I'm Not My Father
by pain17ification
Summary: Orochimaru, after defecting from the Leaf, had someone steal donated eggs from the hospital. One set of those eggs belonged to Kushina Uzumaki. Using his own seed, he has a woman carry his heir; but she escapes to the Leaf before dying in childbirth. Growing up with his father's sins weighing him down, how will Naruto prove he's not his father? Maybe a pale-eyed heiress can help...
1. Chapter 1: Cruel Beginnings

**So, here I am with my attempt at a Naruto/Hanabi story!**

 **Wish me luck!**

 **I own nothing!**

* * *

 _I'm Not My Father_

 _Chapter One: Cruel Beginnings_

* * *

"Hokage-sama!" cried a doctor as he ran into the office of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of the Leaf Village.

"Satoshi-san, what is it?" he asked in concern.

"Sir, the hospital has been robbed! Many different vials of donated eggs have been pilfered and we don't know who did it!"

Sarutobi saw that the doctor was almost hysterical so he tried to get him to calm down. "Breathe, man! I need you to report if any of the eggs were of importance!"

Satoshi nodded and took several deep breaths in hopes of calming his nerves. While not as much as he wanted, he was able to speak a bit more calmly. "A few were from some female members of the council …"

"And…?" urged the Hokage.

"Well…there was also Uzumaki-san," anxiously finished the doctor. "She had donated some of her eggs about a week ago since she is the last of her clan."

Sarutobi's eyes widened in shock at the man's answer and he rushed over to the hospital, already seeing some of the Uchiha Task Force on the scene. When they saw the Hokage, they all saluted and he waved them off in light of the situation.

"What have you found?"

"Sir, whoever was able to take these eggs was able to sneak past practically the entire staff. Someone saw the culprit…however…" one of the Uchiha started before he solemnly moved aside, showing a dead body with a silent scream etched on her face and a kunai in her throat.

Sarutobi closed his eyes and gave a silent prayer for the dead nurse before he stepped aside for some other nurses to take the body to the morgue. "Find whatever else you can. One of you fetch Kushina Uzumaki for me as well. I need to see her immediately."

"Sir!" saluted the three Uchiha before one of them left and the other two continued to check the crime scene.

* * *

"M-My eggs were stolen?" asked Kushina in shock. "B-But who would do such a thing, old man?"

Standing next to her was her fiancé, Minato Namikaze, who was also picked to be the Fourth Hokage once Sarutobi retired. He too looked concerned as he held Kushina close to show his support.

"I don't know, Kushina, and that's what is so worrying. For all we know, your eggs could be used to create a new group of Uzumaki for another village," answered the older man.

"Is there nothing we can do?" queried Minato. "Could we get some Inuzuka members to try and search for the culprit?"

"We already have a couple on the case, but so far they've picked up nothing. Whoever did this was skilled enough to remove their scent from some of our best trackers." He sighed tiredly, looking older than he really was. "This is all becoming very stressful. First Orochimaru defects from the Leaf, then we find some spies in our own village, and now this…"

Minato's eyes narrowed at this. "Sir…what if all of these events were connected?"

The Hokage tensed at that, thinking over the theory. "It's possible. Orochimaru had many subordinates and people loyal to him. He could've been using these people as spies and had one of them steal the eggs."

"Then let's go after the bastard, ttebane!" cried Kushina heatedly. Her clan's potential future could be in the hands of a madman, and she wanted to get them back from his clutches.

"This is all speculation," Sarutobi reluctantly shot down. "Besides, we have no clue where he went off to when he defected." Seeing her frustration, he continued, "I'm sorry, Kushina. But as of this moment, there isn't much we can do. All we can do is keep sending out tracker teams to try and get a trail."

She frowned at that, but Minato gently squeezed her shoulder for reassurance. Grabbing his hand, she took a breath to compose herself. "You'll keep me informed, right?"

"Of course I will," immediately answered the Hokage. "I'll be sure to tell everything we find to you and Minato."

"Thank you, sir," Minato said before he led his future wife out of their leader's office.

* * *

A dark cloaked figure was panting hard as they ran across fields of rice paddies in the dead of night. Strapped to their back was a satchel that gave off little clinks as they moved swiftly.

The figure stopped in front of a rundown house made of rotting wood before they entered inside. Once they did, they made their way to the back corner and kicked aside a piece of broken ceiling, revealing a small seal the size of a child's hand. Crouching, they placed their hand on the seal and activated it, making the opposite corner shimmer away like burning paper and reveal a set of descending stairs.

Nodding to themselves, they went down the stairs and walked through the dimly lit underground halls of the hidden base. On the walls were strange designs that looked like the movement patterns of serpents. The figure paid those designs no mind as they entered a large open room that had a large snake statue at the end and a man sitting on the statue's head.

Said man had pale skin that was almost white, smooth black hair that fell to his mid back, and yellow eyes reminiscent of a serpent with purple markings around them. He wore plain grey garbs with black pants and a thick purple rope belt tied in a large knot behind his back. His ears had blue tomoe-shaped earrings and he wore a black polo neck underneath his tunic.

The man took note of his new visitor and smirked. "Ah, at last. I take it you didn't have any trouble?"

"None at all, Orochimaru-san," replied a male voice as the figure lowered their hood to reveal an average man with brown hair and black eyes. "Someone saw me, but I took care of them before they could utter a word. As promised," he then removed his satchel and handed it to the snake-like man, "the eggs of various donors. I didn't see any clan eggs save for one, so I grabbed eggs donated by council members to make up for it."

"And which clan offered their eggs?" asked Orochimaru as he checked the condition of the glass vials, making sure they weren't damaged. A couple were, but they were unimportant.

"Just the Uzumaki, who I discovered was the last one in the village. Apparently, she was petitioned to give some of her eggs in the event she perished on a mission or before she could sire a child."

"Uzumaki, eh? Kukuku," chuckled the Sannin as he pulled out the vial with Kushina's eggs. "How wonderful. I'll be sure to put these eggs to very good use." The snake man then pulled out a bag stuffed with ryo coins and tossed it to the other man. "I appreciate your services."

"It was no problem. If you'll keep offering pay like this, I wouldn't mind taking on a few more jobs in the future. Until then," the man bid before he left the base.

As he watched the man leave, Orochimaru smirked cruelly. "It would've been a wonderful way to get more jobs done, but I can't have any loose ends who know about my whereabouts." A dark brown snake slithered out of the shadows and brushed Orochimaru's leg, making his smirk grow a fraction. "Take care of him for me, my pet."

The snake tasted the air for a moment before it slithered off, obeying its master's request.

Once the snake left, Orochimaru made his way to one of his base's many labs and set down Kushina's vial on the desk of the scientist in the room. "Keep those eggs ready for me. I plan to use them within the week."

"What will you do until then, my lord?" asked the scientist as she put the eggs somewhere safe to keep them from dying out.

The man chuckled darkly. "I'll be seeking out a carrier for my future heir," he answered as he left, disappearing into the dim hallways of his hideout.

* * *

A couple of weeks had passed since the incident at the hospital, and Kushina was currently looking at the results of a test she had requested with a fond smile. "So…I really am pregnant?" she asked her nurse, who smiled warmly at her.

"Yes, you are Uzumaki-san. Congratulations."

"Thank you. Is there anything I should know for the pregnancy?"

The nurse nodded and pulled out some papers filled with information before handing them to the redheaded woman. "Yes, everything you will need to know will be on those sheets. It will explain the cravings, potential mood swings, and even how your body should naturally adapt to the fetus growing inside you. It will also explain the best diets to ensure that the baby will be healthy when it is born. As for the birth date, it should be sometime near October."

The Uzumaki nodded in thanks before she left the hospital with a spring in her step. She was beyond happy that she would be having a baby, and she knew that Minato would be just as happy. Their wedding, which would be held in secret with only a handful of people knowing, was going to happen within the next month, so she wanted to surprise her fiancé with the news of their future child before then.

Unknown to her, in a certain underground base was another woman who was sitting before a doctor. "So…it's finally happened?" she asked, hiding her despair. She had been taken away from her home after it was destroyed in a freak earthquake. The man who took her seemed kind when he offered her a home, but she soon realized that she was taken with the man so that she could be a carrier of his future child.

"Yes, the eggs were safely and successfully planted inside of your womb along with Orochimaru-sama's seed. Based on the tests, the eggs have been fertilized enough to begin the growth process. As for the date of birth, I'm estimating sometime around mid-October," answered the doctor as she showed the results of the tests.

"I see," stated the woman, gently placing a hand over her womb. "Thank you…"

"Be sure to eat and rest well so that Orochimaru-sama's child will be born healthy," warned the doctor before dismissing her patient.

The woman nodded absently as she left the office and made her way through the halls and to the small room that was "given" to her by Orochimaru. Sitting on her bed, she kept her hand over her womb and her eyes began to get misty. Slowly, realizations began to dawn on her and she believed that the "freak earthquake" was really a jutsu used by the snake man so that he could persuade any survivors into joining him. Along with herself, only two young men had survived and they were now under Orochimaru's employ.

They would live and die as servants of the very man who killed everyone else from their small village.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as fear crept up on her. She was carrying the man's future child, who would no doubt be raised cruelly by Orochimaru so that he would grow up to be a worthy "heir" to his legacy. And she would no doubt be killed after her "services" were used up.

Burying her face in her hands, she wept for herself, for her lost friends, and for the unborn child who was already planned to have a life only of use for a cruel man. For what felt like years to her, she wept and prayed to the Kami for some way to escape her fate.

Taking time to wipe her tears and compose herself, she began to see what she needed to do; she would have to escape this place somehow. It would be hard, nearly impossible since she had no ninja training, but she knew she had to try if she was to save herself and the child beginning to grow within her.

So, with her mind made up and with a determination that some ninja would be jealous of, she began to plan her escape.

* * *

She was panting hard as she snuck across the rice paddy fields, her form enshrouded in a dark cloak to blend in with the darkness of the night. To her fortune, the night had a new moon, so there was no lunar glow to give away her position.

She gasped quietly and ducked behind some brush when she heard voices approaching. She clutched where her beating heart was, waiting anxiously for her pursuers to pass. Her heart hammered against her chest and hand as she heard them land beside the brush for a moment before leaping off into the trees.

A soft breath of relief escaped her lips before she slowly got up, checking to see if the coast was clear. When she saw that it was, she took off again, a hand pressed gently against her slightly grown stomach. It had been a long three months of waiting and enduring, but her patience and resiliency paid off when she was able to knock out her doctor and take a cloak before leaving. She had spent the months familiarizing herself with the base, slowly memorizing it like the back of her hand so that she could flee.

And flee she did, heading south in hopes of finding a sanctuary. For hours, she ran and kept looking out for anymore pursuers. She even had to go through a large valley with a waterfall and two humongous statues of men standing across from one another. Paying the statues no mind, she kept moving and ran through dense forests.

By the time dawn began to break through the horizon, she saw large gates and stumbled to them, too exhausted to keep running. She finally collapsed when she was half a mile out, making sure to land so that the baby wouldn't be harmed. To her growing fortune, she was discovered by the gate guards and they reached her prone form just before she lost consciousness.

* * *

A few days had passed since she collapsed, and she woke up to a white ceiling and the comfort of a hospital bed. She weakly looked around and saw that she had an IV tube in her and various monitors keeping track of her condition.

A nurse walked in at that moment and smiled warmly at her. "Welcome back. How are you feeling?"

The woman groaned and answered tiredly, "I feel exhausted… Where am I?"

"You're in the Leaf Village. The night watch found you collapsed outside of the village gates a couple nights ago, and they deduced that you weren't a potential threat after a quick search of your person. The baby growing inside of you is fine also, which is great to see." The nurse gently patted the woman's shoulder with her smile never fading. "You're going to be just fine."

As she went about checking the various monitors, the pregnant woman gave a small laugh as tears welled up in her eyes, rolling down her cheeks in absolute relief. _'I did it… I escaped,'_ she thought to herself as more tears fell.

* * *

"Ma'am, you need to stay here!" ordered a doctor to the woman as the Kyuubi raged outside the hospital. The night was October 2nd, and the escapee of Orochimaru was due within the following week. A barrier was formed around the hospital as a last line of defense against the rampaging Bijuu and its chakra saturating the air.

Her life in the village had been a peaceful one these past few months. She had a home, she had a job that made sure to accommodate to her pregnancy, and she was happy. She had plans to live a good life and to raise the child within her with love so that he wouldn't become like his father.

The sex of the child had been discovered months ago, and she had decided to name the boy Naruto due to the massive gusts that had been happening that day. She believed that her son, even if he wasn't truly hers, would be just as great as the natural maelstroms of the world; though a part of her still found the _other_ meaning of his name to be a cute joke for the future.

As she watched the fox from within her room, she saw the Fourth Hokage, being given the positon just a few months ago, teleport the beast away from the village after slamming down on it with a massive red toad. She and the other villagers felt relief at seeing the fox taken away.

But she mourned as well when it was revealed later that evening that the previous Hokage had given up his life to seal the beast away into the Fourth Hokage's own son.

* * *

"Alright, one more time! Push!" urged the doctor as the woman cried out and used the remainder of her fading strength to push out her son. The doctor used that moment to fully remove the baby from the womb, crying out, "It's a boy! Congratu- What on earth?"

His confused query got everyone's attention, and they saw the reason why. The baby had pale, almost white, skin and black hair on his head. However, under the light, they saw a bit of red mixed in. The child also had strange black markings around his eyes, making them more serpentine in appearance.

The woman's breathing was labored as she weakly reached out to the doctor. "L…Let me see him…please…"

The doctor was still in shock at the baby's appearance, but he slowly brought the newborn over to the dying woman. It was the price for her good fortune in her eyes that she would contract an illness just days before the child's birth. The strain of the birth was too much for her, and the illness capitalized on that enough to leave her with maybe minutes left to live.

"Naruto," she whispered out with a loving smile and tears falling down. "My precious boy… I'm so sorry I can't be there for you… I wish I could…" She gave a weak laugh as the baby boy leaned into her, seeking warmth even as she was losing it. "I love you so much… Grow up to be a great person. Don't let what your father did determine who you are…" She used the last of her strength to put all of her love into a gentle kiss to his temple. "I…love…you…"

The next thing the doctor and nurses heard was the sound of her flat lining.

* * *

"How could this have happened?" Minato asked to himself, but aloud as he stared at the sleeping child of one of the village's biggest traitors. "How could a child of Orochimaru slip into this village?"

"No one would've known about it, sensei," answered a man with silver hair, a face mask, and his headband covering his left eye. "How many people would've thought to check if this boy had Orochimaru as his father? It would have to have been done by someone that paranoid."

The Fourth Hokage sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Any information on the woman?"

"She was a resident of a village that was destroyed almost a year ago. She was found collapsed outside the gates nearly six months back and she was allowed to stay when it was determined she wasn't a threat. Other than that, she was clean. She was known as a kind and friendly woman with a couple of friends, but none close enough to want to care for her child."

"I see… This is going to become a big problem in the future. It's bad enough that people are still a bit wary of Bolt-kun for being the new Jinchuriki, but now we have the child of the snake born amongst us."

"What will you do, sensei?" asked the Jonin.

"I'll do what is done for all orphan-born children; he'll be under the care of the hospital for a few months before being placed in an orphanage. When he's old enough, he'll be offered a chance at the Academy." He took a small breath to finish his thoughts. "He may be the child of Orochimaru, but that doesn't mean he'll grow up to become his father. If we play this right, we could let him grow up without that kind of influence."

"The villagers won't like this; especially Anko."

"I know," sighed the blonde. "But I won't let past actions judge the innocence of a baby. He deserves a chance like every other child. Inform the staff please, Kakashi."

The Jonin nodded and went to speak to the head doctor. Left alone with his thoughts, Minato watched as the child of a traitor began to fuss and cry out, as if he was aware of what kind of life he would have. Closing his eyes, the Hokage turned away from the window showing the nursery and made his way back to his office.

* * *

"And stay out, you freak!" yelled a shop owner as a pale-skinned, fourteen-year-old teenager was thrown out of his store.

The boy watched as the man slammed his shop door closed, cringing at the force behind it before sighing and standing up. The teen had blood red hair that looked black in dark areas and violet eyes surrounded by black serpentine markings. His hair fell to his shoulders and was fizzed around the edges, giving it a messy look. He wore a dark blue-gray robe with gray lining and a fur collar and a tattered gray-blue cape emblazoned with white fire at the end. Beneath it, he wore no shirt, fingerless opera-length black gloves wrapped in studded red-brown leather straps, baggy black pants, and red-brown sandals. (1 & 2)

This was Naruto Fuyōna, an orphan boy who was kicked out of the orphanage after being "gifted" with his surname four years ago. He was known as "unwanted" amongst the potential adopters and by the staff themselves, so they gave him a name befitting of it. The boy didn't care and was ironically happy to be given a name that he could, hopefully, pass down one day.

The young teen was not well liked amongst the village for his looks, for they reminded the village way too much about his father; the identity of which he found out when he visited the library and read up on famous Leaf Ninja. The things his father had done had frightened him, and he wanted nothing to do with the man.

While he was scorned for his father's past deeds, Naruto was actually a kind boy with an open mind about the world. His dream was to visit new places and learn new things, and to meet new people who would hopefully accept him for who he is and not who his father was. He had many interests, but his biggest was mixed into the ninja arts. While many aspiring ninja and kunoichi were more interested in the main three branches of shinobi arts, he was intrigued with the difficult art of fuinjutsu and how it could be used. Sure, he liked the other arts, but not as much as he did sealing.

It amazed him how versatile it could be, and it awed him that it was able to contain the massive Bijuu who were believed to have been unstoppable in the past.

Another thing he liked, though it didn't start out that way, was snakes. At first he feared them since they were associated with his father, but over time he grew to like them. He would get occasional visits from the reptiles whenever he was off on his own, and they kept him company whenever he felt lonely.

He brushed off the dirt from his clothes from being thrown out before he sighed to himself. "I guess I won't be getting breakfast today," he muttered before he made his way to the Academy for class.

Along the way, he ignored the people actively keeping their distance or giving him distrusting stares. He had grown up with it for years, so it wasn't anything new to him. There were _some_ people who were at least civil with him, like a Dog-masked ANBU who checked in on him occasionally. Sure, they didn't really spend time talking more than necessary, but it was nice to be treated normally instead of how he was used to.

When he approached the Academy gates, he made his way past the happy families bidding their children farewell for the school day. He did his best to ignore them, but he couldn't stop that stinging pain in his heart whenever he was reminded that he would never have a moment like that. His father was a criminal and his mother died birthing him.

He didn't even know if the woman loved or despised him when he left her womb.

Entering the classroom, he took his usual spot in the back corner close to the window. He had an entire row to himself since even people his age feared him. He sighed at how much a parent can influence a child, and a small part of him wondered if his father influenced him at all even though he never met him.

"Alright class, settle down," called out Iruka Umino, the teacher of the hopeful graduates. "Now, as you were told, this first week will be used to get you all used to how your last year at the Academy will go. We also will have the clan children joining us this year since their first years of study were done with their clansmen. So, please welcome the new students joining you for this final year."

The other students watched as the heirs of the ninja clans walked in. Naruto didn't pay much attention to them since he was under the belief that they would hate him just like everyone else.

However, he did hear their names; Choji Akamichi, Shino Aburame, Hinata and Hanabi Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Yakumo Kurama, Shikamaru Nara, Sasuke Uchiha, Bolt Uzumaki-Namikaze, and Ino Yamanaka. Once everyone was seated, the day went by without fuss, though he did catch a few side glances in his direction.

When the lunch period rolled by, Naruto went off on his own while everyone else went to hang out with their friends. Sitting against a shaded area beneath a tree, he pulled out a single apple that he had snuck from an unsuspecting fruit vendor and began to eat while pulling out a small book on sealing he borrowed from the library.

Unknown to him, a pale-eyed girl was watching him from her position next to her younger twin. She had long brown hair that reached her waist and was tied with a white ribbon around her shoulders. She wore a tan colored, long-sleeved kimono shirt with red-orange flames designed on it with a matching knee-length skirt. She also wore a white obi around her waist and red sandals. (3)

"Hanabi-nee, are you alright?" asked Hinata to her elder twin.

"I'm fine," she replied simply, still giving glances in Naruto's direction, raising a brow when a small garden snake poked around from behind the tree and slithered up to him.

To her intrigue, he didn't freak out like many people did and gave the snake a smile before letting it go up his arm. The smile itself was small, but it was real and it made her cheeks flush a bit at how handsome it made him. Watching as he put his book down and stared petting the snake, she smiled faintly.

Hinata looked to her sister and then to who she was looking at before her expression became worried. She had heard the rumors about the pale-skinned teen and who his father was, and she was concerned that Naruto would end up like Orochimaru. Of course, she wasn't above the benefit of the doubt, but she still worried about what people could do after she and her sister were almost taken away years ago.

Next to her was her best friend since childhood and not-so-secret crush, Bolt. He had been told to give Naruto a chance by his parents, even if his father looked a bit unsure of the notion. Looking at the teen, he wondered if he could really end up the way people feared he would. A part of him understood a bit of what Naruto was going through since his status as a Jinchuriki was concerning to certain people, so he didn't want to judge someone with a life he probably could've ended up living.

"Hey Scales!" he called out to Naruto, using a nickname associated with snakes.

However, Naruto ignored him since he believed that it was another person trying to get under his skin. Instead, he focused on the snake wrapping itself around his finger.

Bolt's brow twitched before he called out louder, "Oi, I'm talking to you!"

"I understand that," replied Naruto calmly, still playing with the little snake. "That doesn't mean I need to listen."

Officially annoyed, the son of the Hokage walked over to him. "Look, how about you have lunch with us instead of by yourself?"

Violet eyes looked up and met cerulean, raising a brow at the notion. "Why?"

"Well," began Bolt while rubbing his head, "it's gotta be lonely eating by yourself, right? I'm sure Hinata-chan and Hanabi wouldn't mind."

Naruto turned to the Hyuuga Twins, one of them nervous and the other curious, before turning back to the blonde. "Thanks for the offer…but I already ate. Besides, lunch's over."

As soon as he said that, the bell rang and he stood up, brushing off any dirt and grass on his clothes before letting the garden snake slither off his finger. With that done, he made his way back inside with the other students. Taking his usual spot, he got ready for the teacher to resume the lesson…

But the sound of someone pulling out the chair next to him made him turn to see the elder Hyuuga Twin taking a seat. "Uh, can I help you?" he asked in confusion.

"No, I'm just taking a seat. Is that a problem?" she asked with a slender brow raised boldly.

A bit flustered at her dauntless look, he shook his head and turned his attention back to the teacher giving the lesson. He made sure to take notes and pay attention as much as he could, but the girl next to him made it hard to focus.

"I'm Hanabi," he heard her say softly, turning to see her looking directly ahead at the teacher.

He blinked curiously before he replied, "Naruto Fuyōna…"

She nodded just enough for him to see it as she wrote down notes. Thinking it was over, he turned back to his own notebook and resumed writing. "It's nice to meet you, Naruto-san."

He blinked again before a small smile appeared on his face. This normally bad day suddenly seemed not as bad anymore.

* * *

 **1 & 2~ His hair is like Ichigo's after he trained in the Dangai Precipice world while hit outfit is Menma's from the **_**Naruto**_ **movie** _ **Road to Ninja**_

 **3~ Hanabi is in her** _ **The Last**_ **movie outfit and will be Hinata's elder twin by a few minutes**

 **And there we have it; the first chapter of this attempt at a Naruto/Hanabi story! So, as you read, in this Naruto is the son of Orochimaru with the use of Kushina's donated eggs! As of now, no one but Orochimaru knows who Naruto's real mother is and they believe that the nameless woman is Naruto's true mother.**

 **Over time, the truth will come out and problems will arise, but through it all Naruto will press on and prove that he is not his father. As for his last name, Fuyōna, that literally means "Unwanted" which is what the matrons at the orphanage gave him as his surname.**

 **I hope you all like my take on this idea! Please leave me a nice review!**

 **Until next time!**

 **pain17ification**


	2. Chapter 2: Support from Unlikely Places

**Hi guys! Here's the next installment!**

 **Just to let you know, due to my appreciation for the soundtrack, I'm going to use** _ **Kingdom Hearts**_ **music for certain moments; mainly combat.**

 **I own nothing!**

* * *

 _I'm Not My Father_

 _Chapter Two: Support from Unlikely Places_

* * *

Sitting on the Academy roof was the son of the White Snake, watching as his classmates were picked up by their families after the day of study had ended. Only a couple of students had caught his interest, as well as their parents.

The first was the brash blonde boy who had tried to extend an invitation to him. Picking him up was a beauty of a woman with vibrant red hair and a smile just as bright. He took note of how she and Bolt would playfully push one another as they walked away from the building, never once losing their cheerful demeanors.

Next was the Uchiha, who had shown a rather high aptitude for the ninja arts based on what he had seen throughout the day. He was picked up by his mother as well; another beautiful woman with raven colored hair and a kind expression that seemed to be a foil to the natural "Uchiha scowl" he saw on many others. It was rather infectious since Sasuke's own scowl lessened a bit as he left with her.

Lastly were the Hyuuga Twins who were picked up by another clansmen who wore bandages around her forehead. She gave the two a respectful bow, which was returned by Hinata while Hanabi gave a simple nod in greeting. Once the greetings were done, the clansmen escorted them out of the gates, making sure to stay behind them like a watchful guardian.

 _'A Branch Member, most likely,'_ mused the teen as turned his gaze away from his classmates below. His violet eyes turned to the Hokage Mountain, specifically staring at the face of the late Third Hokage. "Why did you let him escape?" he asked softly to no one. "He was doing horrible things…and you let him go…"

He didn't get an answer, something he wasn't surprised about. Sighing, he stood up and leapt down from the roof, landing softly on the grass before he calmly walked away from the Academy. Once again, he paid no mind to the actions of the villagers as he made his way to the training grounds; specifically to the one labeled the Forest of Death.

Approaching the fence, he looked around for a moment and gave a soft sigh of relief. "Good, she's not here. Don't need her cursing at me all day," he muttered before pulling out a scroll and unsealing a book on physical conditioning. "Okay, let's see… Next in the book is the legs. So, squats and sprints to build up the muscle while stretching to expand the flexibility…"

Setting the book down, he did a few warmup stretches before he started to do some squats, making sure to go as low as he can so that he could feel his muscles working. He kept his arms close and moved them outward as he descended, bringing them back in as he rose up. The teen did two reps of fifteen squats before he made a line in the dirt with his foot and made a second one twenty yards away.

Moving back to his first line, he got in a runner's stance and took a breath to calm himself before he shot forward, making sure to bend low so that he had at least three fingers touching the second line before sprinting back to the first. Back and forth he went, making sure to touch each line five times before he did one last sprint, forgoing the second line and continuing at top speed until he reached a tree about fifty yards away from his first line.

He braced himself against the trunk of the tree as he breathed hard, trying to ease the burning he felt in his lungs. As he took deep breaths, he slowly walked back to the first line before he sat down next to his belongings and unsealed a canteen. Uncorking it, he greedily drank its contents, spilling some water down his chin and neck due to drinking too fast.

Unknown to him, a spectator was watching him train since he had arrived, hidden by the thick foliage of the trees behind the fence. This spectator was a woman with dark violet hair that was styled in a peacock fan and brown eyes without pupils. She wore a long-sleeved, tan trench coat over a short-sleeved mesh shirt, an orange skirt that stopped above her knees, gray shin guards, and standard blue shinobi sandals while her forehead protector rested proudly on her head.

She was seated in a cross-legged position as she watched the child of her most hated person train hard. In truth, she was fighting herself not to go down there and curse at the teen; but she held herself back. She had done enough cursing at him and his father over the years, and it wasn't until she spoke to the Hokage and his wife that she made an effort to stop.

* * *

 _"Anko-san," began Minato as he looked to the Special Jonin standing before him, "surely you understand that what you're doing is being aimed at an innocent boy?"_

 _She had been asked to come see him after she was pulled away from her cursing the son of her old teacher. Her arms were crossed and she was scowling at the floor, trying to calm down in front of her village leader and his wife who an idol of hers._

 _Said idol made her own comment. "Anko-chan, Naruto-san has done nothing at all to associate himself with his father. He is not cruel, he is not manipulating, and he certainly is not trying to harm anybody through twisted acts. From what I've seen, he's actually a kind boy who is being constantly pushed away for something he didn't do or have any control of."_

 _"But," she tried to argue, "that bastard-"_

 _"Is not here," interrupted Minato calmly. "He's hiding like the serpent he is while his son was taken from his own clutches by a very brave young woman who died giving birth to him." He saw that she wasn't totally convinced, so he kept pressing forward. "Do you know what the doctor's told me his mother did just before she died?"_

 _"No sir, I do not," she answered a bit tersely, not really wanting to hear a dead woman's last act._

 _"She held Naruto in her hands, and she wept for him," said the blonde Hokage, making Anko actually look up in slight shock. "It was reported that she cried because she wouldn't be able to be in his life, and that he would no doubt be hated for his father. But through her own tears, she told him to grow up to be a great person and to not let Orochimaru's actions determine who he will be."_

 _Kushina continued, "I have no doubt that Naruto-san did not ask to be born with a father like Orochimaru, nor did he ask to be a scapegoat for his past deeds…much like you were treated before his identity was revealed."_

 _Anko's stature froze in shocked tension, thinking back to how she was treated before the hate and fear was directed towards Naruto. While she was grateful that she was no longer under such hurtful looks, she in turn had cast the same looks towards Naruto._

 _Reeling back mentally, she began to see that she had become a hypocrite; doing the same thing she had suffered through to another person who didn't ask for the curse he had to live with. And it was at that realization that she lost the strength in her legs and fell onto a chair behind her, staring aimlessly at the floor in front of her._

 _Minato and Kushina gave her somber looks, having an idea what she was thinking while hoping she would come to terms with her actions and her feelings._

* * *

After that talk, she had avoided Naruto so that she would not be tempted to act like she had done before. And now, whenever she saw him forcefully ignore other people and hide the hurt behind a mask, she saw herself in his place doing the same thing.

She took a breath to try and get her thoughts together, still observing the pale-skinned teen as he continued his physical exercises. What she was thinking of doing was crazy in her eyes…but at the same time, she knew it would be the right thing to do.

Back with Naruto, he had just finished another set of sprints before he took a break to rest his burning lungs and aching legs. "Dammit," he gasped out. "This is…worse than the…weight training…"

The sound of feet hitting the dirt made him tiredly turn to see the violette woman who seemed to hate him more than most standing before him. He sighed and forced himself to stand, packing away his things as calmly as he could to hide how nervous he truly was. They were alone out here, and she could try to deal some physical harm to him.

"I'm sorry, Mitarashi-san," he apologized as he sealed away his things and stowed away his scroll. "I was just finishing up, so I'll be out of your hair now."

She had to fight back a slight wince at how despondent he sounded at her arrival; not that she could blame him. She took a breath to compose herself before she said, "Hold on a second, kid." She saw him freeze, tensing his body in case he needed to make an escape. This made her wince again before she pressed forward, "Look…I know I've done a lot of messed up shit to you because of who your…father was…"

He slowly turned to her, noting how she couldn't meet his gaze and was rubbing right arm awkwardly with her left hand. She looked to be having trouble continuing, so he spoke up. "If you're trying to apologize," he began, getting her attention, "I already forgave you." Her eyes widened at that. "So, you don't need to force yourself to say anything. I'd rather we let go of what happened in the past and just go on with our lives."

She blinked in surprise at the casual dismissal of her actions, and how he had so easily forgiven her. "Y-You can't be serious… How can you… How can you just forgive me like that?! I was such a bitch to you! You should be furious!"

"Maybe," he replied thoughtfully before he shrugged carelessly. "But it's a waste of time to hang onto the past. I'd rather look ahead so that I have nothing to tie me down, y'know." He then surprised her again when he offered her a small smile and nod. "Now, I should get going. I need to find something for dinner and get home before it starts raining."

She absently looked up, seeing that the day was pretty patchy with the clouds slowly moving into one another. She looked back to Naruto and saw that he was already walking away from her, so she went after him. "Hey, hold up a sec!"

He stopped walking and turned to see her coming up to him. "Was there something you needed?"

"Yea, I need you to come with me. The least I could do to make up for what I did was offer you something to eat. So, how about we go get some dango?"

"I don't want to trouble you…" he tried to say, but she shook her head firmly.

"I'm insisting, gaki. Just a few dumplings and then we'll go our separate ways."

He sighed at her urging before he nodded. "Lead the way then, Mitarashi-san."

While the part of her that hated formalities wanted to say something, she didn't as she led the teen to a small stand that was run by an elderly woman and her grandson. "Hey granny," called out Anko as she took a stool at the counter, "I need two orders, pronto!"

The elderly woman chuckled mirthfully in the stand's kitchen as she replied, "I'll have them out in a jiffy. Until then, just be patient."

The violette woman smirked at that while Naruto took a stool next to hers. "This stand doesn't get much business compared to the bars, but the service is good and the dumplings are the best in my opinion, she explained to him. "I'm sure you'll like them."

"If you say so," he responded as he pulled out his fuinjutsu book and continued where he left off.

She took note of the material and raised a brow in interest. "You study seals?"

"All the time," he replied without looking up from his book. "It's a rather unappreciated art, if you ask me. Most people go for flashy jutsu or simple ninja tricks, but I personally prefer the variety and untapped potential that sealing can offer a shinobi. I mean, it was seals that held back the Bijuu of all things. Why wouldn't anybody want to learn it?"

She had to give him that. Even though she had a rather cruel seal on her neck, she couldn't help but grudgingly respect the art. "Maybe people don't learn due to the difficulty?"

"If that's all it takes to keep people away, then the future for shinobi is rather bleak. If it's difficult, you do your best to discover the methods; just like with the other shinobi arts. I'm sure that people like Hashirama-sama, Madara-sama, and Hokage-sama didn't stop getting stronger just because it was difficult."

"That's true…" she agreed as the two dishes of dango were placed before them. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Naruto look to the elderly woman in surprise when she smiled kindly and told him to enjoy the food. _'Difficult, huh?'_ she mused, thinking over how difficult it was for her to actually be sitting next to him without showing any animosity.

"These are pretty good," he commented as he ate one of the dumplings on the skewer in his hand. "A bit too sweet, but still good."

"Told you that you'd like them, kid," stated the woman as she finished her first skewer. "I love dango, and if I wasn't worried about becoming a dumpling myself, I'd eat it all the time."

"I'm sure you wouldn't become one even if you did," assured the teen. "You seem rather fit, and I'm sure your shinobi life is the reason you stay in shape. So even if you ate a bunch of these things, you'd most likely bounce back to the figure you have now."

The way he calmly said it was a pleasant surprise. Most men who would hear such a complaint would've just agreed with her wanting to keep her figure in hopes of "getting lucky". But instead, this kid told her that she would probably be just fine even if she _did_ eat more dumplings than necessary.

"Yea," she agreed with a grin," there's no way I wouldn't be able to go back to looking this hot!"

While not exactly what he had intended, Naruto was still pleased that he was able to enjoy a simple meal with someone; even if that person once treated him poorly. Once he finished his second skewer, he got off of his stool and offered the elderly cook a few coins for a tip before he turned to Anko. "Well Mitarashi-san, I should get going. Thanks for the food…and for the apology," he said with a small smile before he began to walk off.

Anko watched him go with a thoughtful frown on her face. Kushina had been right about him; he was nothing like Orochimaru save for his looks. So, she made a decision and called out, "Meet me back at the fence after you get out of class tomorrow!" She saw him stop and look back with a raised brow, making her smirk at him. "I'll make it worth your while; promise!"

Slowly, she saw him give her a real smile and nod. "Alright then," he called back before he resumed his trek, though his gait was noticeably lighter.

She frowned slightly at that, ashamed that a simple gesture of good will made the shunned boy's day so much brighter. _'I was the same way,'_ she reminded herself before she paid for the food and left the stand. As she made for home, she mentally nodded to herself and thought, _'He's not like the bastard…and I'll make sure it stays that way.'_ Looking up, she glared at the sky and finished, _'You hear that, Orochimaru? Your son will_ _ **never**_ _become you. I swear it…'_

* * *

"You seem a bit more upbeat today, Naruto-san," commented Hanabi as she sat next to him in class the next day. "Did something good happen?"

He shrugged as he leaned back in his chair. "I guess you can say that. I talked with someone and we buried the hatchet between us."

She gave a small nod in understanding. "I see. Well, I'm sure you're pleased with that."

"I am," he answered with a small smile. "So, how are you doing today?"

Giving him a sidelong look, she answered, "I'm doing well. My lessons with my father are steadily getting easier for me to understand, so I'm slowly becoming more prepared to lead my people once I become the Clan Head."

"I had a feeling you'd be the heiress instead of Hinata-san. No offense to your sister, but she seems to lack something in terms of leadership. She comes off more as a mediator than someone who takes charge."

"No offense taken, since I can see what you mean. While at one point we were both considered to becoming the heiress, father had us spar to determine who will take over. As you can see, I was the victor, so I will be the next leader."

"Congratulations, then," he replied politely, earning a nod from her before Iruka walked in and settled down the class.

Once they were calmed, he went about the day's lesson. The first part was History, as usual, before they moved on to Mathematics, Calligraphy, and Ninja Theory. After a few hours, the class was led outside to a small dirt circle surrounded by an outline painted white.

"Today, we will have sparring practice. I'll be calling up names and those I call will step into this ring before they begin their spar," explained the Chunin. "First up is…"

When he didn't hear his name, Naruto just watched as the spars commenced. The civilian children were paired together most of the time, but there was a time when a pinkette civilian girl was paired with Hinata. While the girl could've been commended for not backing down, she was rather weak in Naruto's eyes. Either that, or Hinata was stronger than he gave her credit for, since she took down Sakura with ease after a few taps to her arms and legs.

The fights between the clan children were more interesting, but not by much. The Nara boy was paired with the Inuzuka, and the feral boy was beaten by the lazy student effectively dodging his strikes and stumbling out of the ring. The fact that the Nara looked annoyed at having to spar made Naruto smirk.

The Aburame and the Akamichi had a more interesting fight. Choji was obviously a heavy hitter, but Shino was more flexible and was able to redirect the heavy set boy's attacks without much issue before striking at weak points. His respect for the bug user rose when he helped up the Akamichi when he collapsed and the spar ended.

Bolt was paired with Sasuke, and the two proved that they were in the top tier of the class when their spar lasted the full allotted time of seven minutes with no clear victor. Sasuke had impressive form with his family taijutsu, but Bolt was just too unpredictable with his attack patterns, which made them end in a stalemate.

"Alright, last up is Hanabi Hyuuga and Naruto Fuyōna," called out Iruka, noticeable schooling his features when he declared the pale-skinned teen's name.

The two stepped into the ring and faced one another. She looked calm, yet serious while he just gave her a respectful nod and smile. "Good luck, Hanabi-san," he said.

She didn't respond immediately, still eyeing her opponent before she returned his nod. "You as well, Naruto-san."

"Ready?" began Iruka with his arm raised. Dropping it, he said, "Begin!"

(Play "Sinister Sundown")

Hanabi took the initiative and charged at her opponent, who slid into a defensive stance. When she got close, his eyes kept track of her hands and he swatted away her strikes while leaning his body to the sides to avoid any missed deflections. She then surprised him with a rising kick that he barely spun away from.

Continuing his spin, he crouched and tried to sweep out her legs, but she jumped and performed her own spinning kick. The aerial attack was blocked by his forearms, but the force behind it was pretty impressive.

' _Interesting,'_ he mused before he jumped back and stared down his opponent. The two were in their battle stances before they both charged and met in the middle with her blocking a punch with her left hand while her right palm strike was held back by his left hand gripping her wrist. Both then tried to initiate a knee strike, but their knees clashed and they were pushed back from each other.

Resuming her stance, she eyed her sparring partner appreciatively. _'He has impressive reflexes and form. I can't even get a good hit on him.'_ She smirked in growing excitement before she charged again, throwing in her own personal twist on the Hyuuga's taijutsu style.

She used circular motions, ducking and spinning while striking while Naruto was forced to evade more than deflect. _'She's moving faster,'_ he thought in growing worry before he felt her jab his right arm, making it go slack. _'Dammit… She's good.'_

At a disadvantage, Naruto focused and wide kicks that made him spin just like Hanabi was so that his range kept her slightly at bay. Unfortunately, she quickly picked up on his pattern of attack and struck his left leg, which made him lose all feeling in it and fall to the ground.

"That's enough!" called Iruka, stopping his stopwatch at 6min 38sec. "The winner is Hanabi!"

(End Music)

The other students were surprised that Naruto was able to keep up with a Hyuuga, let alone the heiress of the clan. It seemed that the two were evenly matched until Hanabi began to fight a bit differently. As for said heiress, she moved over to Naruto and poked a few spots on his arm and leg to return the feeling back into them.

"Thanks," he said as he stood up with a slight wobble, still getting the numbness out. "You're really good. I guess I'll have to step up my game if I want to keep up with you."

She smirked at his praise. "You did commendably at first, but you were a bit slow when I increased my pace and changed my pattern. Work on your reaction timing a bit, then we'll spar again."

"I'll start training then," he said with a challenging grin, showing his sharper teeth as he did so.

After the sparring sessions, the rest of the day was spent on chakra control exercises; though Bolt and Naruto had noticeably more trouble doing the exercise. With Bolt, it was understandable due to his Uzumaki blood, but it was a surprise for Naruto. He chalked it up to his father having larger than average reserves and him inheriting that trait.

After the day ended, Naruto immediately went back to the Forest of Death where he saw Anko sitting on a bench near the fence with a dango skewer in her mouth, acting like a toothpick for her to chew on. He stopped in front of her and gave a nod in greeting.

She smirked back and said, "Nice of you to show up. So, what I was thinking was that I'd give you some pointers and extra training. I know you said you didn't want me to try and make up for my past actions," she held up a hand to stop him from interrupting her, "but this isn't the case. The way I see it, your birth could actually be a good thing."

"It can?" he asked in slight surprise.

"Yes. After Orochimaru defected," she scowled at his name, "he gave a bad rep to his fighting style, his methods as a shinobi, and to the snakes that he and I summon. What I'm thinking is this: if you and I were to show that it was him that was wrong and not what he taught and discovered, then we could actually be proud of what we know."

"So…you're going to teach me his fighting style and about the Snake Summons?" he queried for confirmation.

"Yes. Eventually, I'll let you sign the Snake Contract and teach you about the unique jutsu that go with them. But for now, we'll work on the taijutsu style; the Coiling Snake." She got off of the bench and did a few stretches as she continued, "This style focuses on flexibility and striking at just the right moments at weak points in the body; like a coiled snake preparing to attack."

"Alright, this is good," he said with a smirk.

"Why's that, brat?" she asked back, giving him the nickname without any venom in her tone.

"We had sparring lessons today, and I was up against the Hyuuga heiress. We were evenly matched until she upped her game and caught me off guard. Once she did, I was on my heels for the rest of the fight and I couldn't react or move fast enough. With this style though," his smirk grew, "I'll be able to do just that and give her a run for her money."

She smirked in return and teased, "So, you got a cute little heiress for a rival, huh? Ah," she sighed dramatically, "young love."

He flushed and choked on his retort. "I-It's not like that!" he cried, making her laugh at his expression.

She kept laughing as he crossed his arms and huffed, grumbling unintelligibly about her actions. She mentally smiled when she witnessed this, glad that he was far more human than his father who would immediately look for exploits to use if he was in Naruto's shoes.

"Alright, enough joking around. Let's get to work!" Grinning evilly, she pulled out a handful of shuriken and a few kunai locked between her fingers, making his pale skin turn whiter in growing worry. "The first lesson is this…DODGE!"

Yelping as he narrowly evaded a kunai taking away his manhood, he leapt into the trees and took off, Anko right on his heels. "You crazy psycho!" his voice echoed. "You trying to kill me?!"

"Shut up and take your lessons like a man!" she called out, laughing insanely as she began to _teach_ her new pupil.

* * *

It was an hour later that Naruto, covered in scuff marks and scratches, was laying on his back panting hard. He gave his _mentor_ a tired glare and groaned out, "You're terrible…"

"Ah, you know you loved it," she waved off. "You're actually pretty good at dodging, but you need to react faster. You keep waiting 'til the last second and it costs you."

"I noticed," he grumbled as he sat up. "So, is this how we'll be training every day?"

"More or less. It'll just be until I think your reaction timing is up to speed, then we'll move on to the katas for the Coiling Snake and sparring sessions. For your sake, you better be up for it if you don't want your ass kicked."

He chuckled at that and nodded determinedly. "Oh, I'm up for it. Bring it on, Mitarashi-san."

She smirked at him before she replied, "Anko, brat. Call me Anko."

He blinked in surprise before nodding. "Alright then, Anko-senpai."

Her smirk grew at the title he gave her. "Same time tomorrow. If you're late, the excuse better be damn good!" she warned before leaving in a swirl of leaves.

Naruto chuckled again as he stood up, brushed off the dirt on his clothes and began to walk back home. Unknown to him, he was being watched.

* * *

Minato smiled as he used the Third Hokage's old crystal ball to observe Anko mentoring Naruto. Next to him, his wife also smiled as she sat in a chair beside him. "Well, I'm glad that they're patching things up," commented Minato. "Those two need someone who understands their pain."

"Let's just hope that Naruto-san doesn't pick up her more eccentric habits," joked Kushina as the couple laughed at the notion. "At any rate, I'm glad that he's able to have someone offer him support through this. I'm also impressed that he's already proficient with sealing scrolls and that he's so interested in fuinjutsu. Not even Bolt-kun is very interested in it; just like his father."

The blonde laughed sheepishly. "Well, I never got into them at first either until I saw the Second's **Flying Raijin** scroll."

She rolled her eyes as he cut off the image in the crystal ball. "I'm being serious though, dear. If Bolt-kun doesn't want to learn more than necessary for sealing, then I'll look for someone else to teach. And right now, Naruto-san seems like a top candidate for future lessons. Anko's plan to bring both herself and him into a good light is a good goal, and I think I could help him grow in his fuinjutsu studies."

"So, will you teach him now? He's still an Academy Student and Anko is already close to pushing it with her offer to teach him. I'm only going to allow her to teach him what she learned from Orochimaru since, technically, it is his birthright."

"I understand that, which is why I want you to make me his Jonin sensei when he graduates," she declared, much to his surprise.

He definitely wasn't expecting _that_ from his wife.

* * *

 **And here we are with the second installment! This chap was mainly to let Anko and Naruto patch things up between them, and to show how other people (Hanabi and Kushina) are growing interested in his development and skillset.**

 **Right now, Hanabi sees Naruto as a potential rival, and a puzzle to try and figure out. Slowly, she'll become his friend and then eventually his love interest.**

 **Anko was on bad terms at first due to him being a reminder of the one who abandoned her and used her. Now, she's mentoring him and plans to keep him from following Orochimaru's darker path.**

 **As for Kushina, she sees him as someone who was dealt a bad hand in life; just like a Jinchuriki usually is. She's intrigued by his appreciation for seals since she wants someone to pass on the knowledge of that art to. With her son more interested in ninjutsu and taijutsu, she sees a potential apprentice in Naruto.**

 **That ending declaration she made was put in to, hopefully, get you guys excited for Naruto's future team when he graduates! So, please review, like, and keep looking for new updates!**

 **Until next time!**

 **pain17ification**


	3. Chapter 3: An Outcast's Graduation

**Hi guys! Here's the next installment!**

 **I own NOTHING!**

* * *

 _I'm Not My Father_

 _Chapter Three: An Outcast's Graduation_

* * *

"Faster!" yelled Anko as she put Naruto, once again, on the defensive. She twisted and bent as she struck, moving just like a serpent as she attacked while he put his entire focus on her strikes in hopes of dodging or deflecting them. "HAH!" she cried, palm striking his chest with a flick of her arm.

Grunting and coughing out air, he was pushed back and fell to the ground hard. She lowered her stance as he panted hard to try and refill his lungs. "D…Dammit…" he gasped out. "You're too…too fast…senpai…"

"Of course I am, gaki," she stated with a smirk. "I'm Jonin level while you're Genin level. The difference is obvious."

"I know," he sighed as he sat up from the ground. "I just feel like I'm not really going anywhere."

"Oh yea?" She then flicked a kunai with half of her strength and her smirk grew when she saw him react instinctively. He rolled away from the flying knife and pulled out his own, taking on the stance for the Coiling Snake. "What about that?" she asked in challenge.

Putting away his knife, he gave her a bashful look. "Okay, I've gotten a lot better thanks to you."

"Damn right."

"But whenever I face you, I feel like all of that training isn't enough."

The violette woman rolled her eyes and bopped her student on the head. "Baka, of course it won't. Again, I'm leagues ahead of you so that means that I'll be that much more of a challenge. You won't be able to beat every threat out there; remember that."

He nodded. "Right. So, what will we work on today?"

She crossed her arms and hummed thoughtfully with her eyes closed. She had been training Naruto for the past year whenever she had time, and throughout that time he had improved greatly under her guidance. While a part of his growth was because of his natural flexibility and affinity for the taijutsu style, he still needed someone more experienced to guide him.

Along with that were the snake related jutsu that she had instructed him in. However, there was something that neither of them had accounted for.

* * *

 _"Alright gaki, this next jutsu is meant for adjusting the bones and skeletal structure in your limbs to allow for more serpentine movements. It's a very crucial component of the advanced katas of the Coiling Snake style," informed Anko as she showed him the jutsu and how her arm was able to twist and coil unnaturally._

 _"So, it affects the arms and legs… What about other limbs, like the neck?"_

 _"Orochimaru was able to do that, but not at first from what I can remember. He created this technique mainly for the arms and legs; everything else came after countless trials." Her face became marred by a frown. "I vaguely remember him saying something about self-experimentation."_

 _Naruto frowned as well at that. "So…he didn't just do that to others… Why would he do that to himself, though?"_

 _"His greatest ambition was to learn everything related to chakra and jutsu. Anything that would help with that – even messing with his natural body – was a viable option in his eyes." She sighed and shook her head. "But we're not here to talk about him. Go ahead and give it a try, gaki."_

 _He nodded before forming the snake handseal and focusing on his legs. With his eyes closed in concentration, he was unaware of his legs twisting into one another and forming a white snake tail that was as long as his natural height. Anko did, and her eyes widened in shock._

 _"Naruto, open your eyes!" she exclaimed, making him open them and she gasped softly as his eyes had become a serpent-like amber with slit pupils._

 _"Senpai? What's wrong?" he asked before he felt his body brushing against the dirt beneath him. Looking down, he saw his new tail and freaked out. "AAAHHHH! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO ME?!"_

* * *

Needless to say, that day was a real eye-opener for the two of them. Anko had a theory as to how Naruto was able to do what he did, but she couldn't prove it at the present time. However, what really confused, and slightly worried her, were how his eyes had changed. After he had dropped the jutsu, his eyes had returned to their normal violet, which made her wonder if she was seeing things at first.

Dropping her thoughts and opening her eyes, she said, "Well, you've got the taijutsu forms down to an above average degree. All that's left are the advanced katas, but I'd rather wait until you've graduated before we get into those."

"Alright," he said with a nod. "So, what will we do now?"

Instead of a vocal answer, she bit her thumb and went through a few handseals before putting her bloody hand flat on the ground. After a plume of smoke, a blue snake with violet diamond markings was seen with a scroll being wrapped by its long body.

Turning to Anko, the snake asked, "You summoned me, Anko-san?" The son of the White Snake noted how much the serpent stressed the "s" sounds of his words.

"Yea, I did. I'm gonna have the gaki here sign the scroll," answered the woman.

The snake turned to the Academy Student, tasting the air with his tongue before his body tensed. "His scent… It's the same as the one who left with Manda."

Before Naruto could respond, Anko cut him off with a look. Turning back to the snake, she explained, "This is his son, Naruto. He's not going to end up like Orochimaru; you have my word."

"And if he does?" challenged the snake.

Naruto frowned and stepped forward. "I won't," he said with conviction. "But…if it makes you feel any better, then Anko-senpai will stop me if I do; even if…" he clenched his fists, "even if she has to kill me. I'd rather it be her that does it if I do end up like _him_."

The Special Jonin looked to him in surprise at the amount of trust he was placing in her. They had known each other for just over a month, and yet…

 _'And yet he trusts me enough to stop him,'_ she finished in her mind, nodding to the snake. "If it comes down to that…I'll stop him."

The snake stared at them both before nodding and unwrapping his body from the scroll, making it fall and roll open. The last name on the scroll was Anko's while the one just before it was Orochimaru's. "To sign, you must do so with your blood and place a handprint in blood of your dominant arm."

The teen nodded and bent down over the scroll before he went through the process of signing it. Anko watched the whole time, and her eyes dimmed at seeing the surname he placed for himself. _'No one should ever have to be called that…'_

"There," he said as he finished. "All signed."

"Excellent," the snake said, rolling back up the scroll. "I'll be taking my leave. I trust you will teach him the necessary steps, Anko-san."

After he left, the Special Jonin instructed, "Alright gaki, watch the seals correctly. We'll have you get them down without chakra first so that you can get a better feel for them."

The student nodded and the two people with cruel connections to the traitor Sannin resumed Naruto's training.

* * *

"He's learning at an impressive rate," Kushina commented after Minato stopped the broadcast from the crystal ball. "To think he's already going to learn summoning with the Academy ending this week."

The Hokage nodded with a concerned look. "Yes, it is impressive, but I can't help but think that his growth is _too_ impressive. Based on the reports from Iruka, he shows himself to be the upper-middle tier in the class when his lessons with Anko show that he should be in the top tier. Why would he hold himself back in the Academy?"

Kushina hummed thoughtfully at the question. "Well…what if Anko told him to do so?"

The man blinked in slight confusion. "What do you mean?"

She rolled her eyes and teased, "And people say you're this genius Hokage." After he gave her a mock offended look, she continued, "Anko has been known for having people underestimate her so that she could surprise them in a fight. Maybe she's having Naruto do the same?"

"It's a possibility… I can see where you're coming from with that notion, but it still concerns me."

Kushina smiled and put a hand over her husband's, squeezing it gently. "Sweetheart, I know that. But you can't become a hypocrite with your own advice towards others. He's not his father…"

He squeezed her hand in return. "I know… But he still reminds me of the man who stole from you." His eyes looked into her own, and she saw anxiety in them. "Do you think it's possible…that Naruto was made with your eggs?"

Her eyes widened in surprise at the idea. "I… I don't know… I mean, it _could_ have happened…but I…" She shook her head with her eyes closed. "I don't know what to say about that…"

Minato brought her into a comforting embrace. "I shouldn't have asked that. Forgive me…"

"No," she assured him. "It wasn't your fault. It's a legitimate notion…"

"Should we check?"

"…No, not right now." At his concerned look, she elaborated, "If he was made from my eggs, I don't want to spring this on him. Let me try and connect with him first. Whether or not he's…my son, I want to try and help him; both with fuinjutsu and as a person."

He sighed and nodded. "Alright, I'll let you handle this."

She smiled and kissed his cheek. "Thank you. Now, I should get home and get dinner started."

After she left, Minato frowned and spoke up, "Dog."

Said ANBU appeared on one knee with their head down. "Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"I need you to check some records for me," began the blonde with a serious visage.

* * *

"Well everyone, this is it," Iruka said as he handed them all their written tests. "The start of your final exams. Try your best and show me that you're ready to become a ninja of this village."

Naruto, in his regular spot, boredly turned over the test and looked over the questions. _'This is pathetic,'_ he mentally commented. _'Why the hell would we need to know that the First Hokage had the Wood Release? Wouldn't it be better to know that it was because of him that the major villages all have a Jinchuriki?'_

Hanabi, having been sitting next to him since her first day, noted how her rival looked positively annoyed at the test. She gave it a glance and saw why; it was far too easy. When Iruka wasn't looking, she nudged him and whispered, "This test is kind of sad, isn't it?"

"Definitely, but it's something we need to do; no matter how easy…"

After the test, Iruka brought them all outside to the sparring rings. It was explained to the potential Genin that they would be sparring with only taijutsu against him or his assistant, who Naruto didn't hear the name of. At one time, the assistant was Mizuki, but he was revealed to be a traitor who was trying to report to Orochimaru by Anko.

He shuddered when he remembered how elated she felt the day after during his training. She seemed to get a thrill out of her job.

"Hello, Naruto-san," greeted a soft-spoken female voice, making him turn to see that it was the Kurama Clan heiress, Yakumo.

He gave her a polite smile and returned the greeting. While Hanabi was definitely his rival, Yakumo was a fellow enthusiast of the unappreciated ninja arts. Where he leaned towards the sealing arts, she leaned towards the illusionistic and healing ones. As a result of this kindred want to make these fields more respected, they had become studying partners and then friends.

"Nervous?" he asked, knowing that taijutsu wasn't her forte.

"A little, but that book on physical conditioning you gave me really helped. Thank you for that."

"It wasn't a problem. I had finished that book, so I figured you could use it more than me."

Hanabi, who was standing on Naruto's other side, fought back a frown at seeing him be so friendly with the once frail heiress. As her rival, she didn't like how he would sacrifice his own time to get better by helping someone else. It was because of him helping Yakumo that he had fallen behind on their spars. Her win count was currently three ahead of him with a total of eight versus his five.

When it was Yakumo's turn, Naruto wished her luck and watched her spar with Iruka. "Why do you help her so much?" questioned Hanabi, making him turn to her.

"Is there a problem with me helping a fellow classmate and friend?" he asked back with a raised brow.

"When it prevents you yourself from improving, I would think so. How will you catch up to me at this rate?"

He chuckled at her reasoning. "Hanabi, while I appreciate the rivalry we have and how it motivates me to get better, I'd rather help someone else improve than leave them in the dust; especially if that person could become a friend to me." He gave her a blank look as he finished, "Or have you forgotten how difficult it is for me to do just that?"

She flinched at the question. "I didn't," she said, her tone becoming faintly defensive. "It's just… This rivalry we have… It's the closest thing that _I've_ ever had to a friendship. I…I don't wish to lose that."

He was touched at the sincerity in her words, and he gave her a grateful smile. "And you won't. Just because I'm helping Yakumo doesn't mean I'm dropping what we have. You're not just a rival, Hanabi; you're my friend…my best friend."

Her eyes widened slightly at that, but she was unable to say anything since she was called up to face the assistant while Naruto was called to face Iruka. Yakumo had done well in her spar and earned a passing grade for lasting the allotted time and getting a clean hit. Naruto smiled at the pleased look on her face before he assumed the Academy taijutsu stance and faced down his teacher.

"Naruto," began Iruka, "while I commend you for still learning the style we instructed you on, please don't think I can't handle whatever else you learned." He gave the teen a kind smile and finished, "Show me exactly what you're capable of."

Naruto raised a brow at that and feigned ignorance. "I don't know what you mean, sensei. Can I just do my test, please?"

The man sighed at that before he took the lead and began the spar. Throughout it all, he saw Naruto pull off textbook maneuvers and he scored a few clean hits on the instructor before the time ran out. Before he could say a word, Naruto gave him the seal of friendship, one that Iruka had taught the students to use in their spars, and returned to the crowd of students.

The final part of the test was the ninjutsu portion. The students were instructed to perform the three Academy jutsu and were allowed to perform a fourth for extra credit. One by one, the students were called in alphabetical order based on their surname. When it was Naruto's turn, both Hanabi and Yakumo – who had taken the seat on the other side of him – wished him luck; even though all three of them knew how easy these jutsu were.

Once inside the separate room, Naruto saw Iruka and his assistant teacher seated at a table across from him. "Alright Naruto, I want you to start with the **Transformation** technique."

The teen complied and performed the jutsu, changing himself into the Fourth Hokage's image perfectly, right down to the flaming coat he wore.

"Good. Now, perform the **Replacement** technique."

Again, Naruto did so and replaced himself with some chalk near the chalkboard behind the two instructors. They turned around to see him still looking like Minato and standing behind them calmly.

"Excellent usage," praised the assistant. "You even kept up your **Transformation** while doing so."

"Alright, lastly I want you to perform the basic **Clone** technique."

Naruto rolled his eyes and held up a half ram seal, producing five illusionary copies of himself that walked right out of his body and stood in a perfect line with him, making it look like there were six Hokage. "Anything else?" he asked, using chakra to make it seem like his voice echoed.

"Well, if you want, you can perform a fourth jutsu for extra credit?" suggested Iruka.

"No thanks," he replied as he dropped all of the jutsu and stood in front of the two instructors. "So, do I pass or not?"

Sighing, Iruka pulled out a Hidden Leaf plate and choices for cloth color. Naruto chose red and wrapped his new band around his left arm, letting his blue-gray robe sleeve covering it from sight. After that, he stepped back into the classroom and went back to his seat.

"Congratulations, Naruto-san," praised Yakumo with a kind smile.

"I knew you'd pass," Hanabi added before frowning. "This test is almost a joke."

"I know," agreed Naruto while Yakumo nodded with her own small frown. "But, whatever. I passed, and that's all that matters. Now, you two need to just breeze through this last test."

Not even an hour later, all of the students had finished their last portion of the test. Like Naruto had said, both Yakumo and Hanabi had breezed through and when they walked out, they didn't show smiles of accomplishment. Instead, they had looks of slight annoyance.

"Well, for those who failed, better luck next time. For those who passed, congrats and come back tomorrow for your teams," Iruka informed before dismissing them all.

Yakumo bid her friend and Hanabi goodbye before she left with a fellow clan member. Hanabi spotted her father and turned to Naruto. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yep. Hopefully we're on the same team," he replied with a smirk.

She returned it as she left, stepping up to her father with Hinata. "Father," she greeted alongside her sister.

He nodded in greeting before he gave Naruto a glance and left with his daughters. Naturally, he'd be against his daughter associating with Naruto, considering who his father was and the reputation being bad for his clan's image. But, after a stern talking to from his wife, Hitomi, he had said nothing against it. In fact, the benefits of the rivalry she had with the boy only proved that his association with her improved her skills as both a Hyuuga and a kunoichi.

Back with Naruto, he had stopped by the dango stand that Anko had taken him to when they first started their new leaf. He grabbed two orders and thanked the kind woman before he made his way to the fence surrounding the Forest of Death. "Senpai?" he called out.

"You called?" she asked from right behind him, but she pouted when he didn't jump in surprise like he used to.

Turning around, he offered her one of the orders with a smile. "I passed," he said simply.

"Naturally," she replied just as simply, though she was smirking. "You had me teaching you, after all."

"I know, and thanks for that. I appreciate it all and I can't wait to learn more from you."

The smile he gave her made her feel a bit lighter. Throughout the training year, she had eased into connecting with him. It was a bit of a struggle since old habits were hard to kill, but she was glad that she did for she had slowly come to see the teen before her as a younger sibling.

Ruffling his hair with a grin, she replied, "Don't mention it, squirt. So, now that you're a Genin, we'll start going through the advanced katas. But not today."

"Why not?" he asked, his eagerness deflating.

"I got some people to interrogate today and besides, you meet your team tomorrow. Best to not wear yourself out the day before, y'know?"

He sighed and nodded before smiling. "Alright. You gotta go now?"

She nodded. "Yea, duty calls. I'll see you later this week. Congrats on earning your headband, Naruto. You deserve it."

He was surprised to hear her use his name instead of a nickname, and it made his smile brighten. "Thanks, Anko-nee…"

It was her turn to be surprised, but she turned around so that he wouldn't see the embarrassment on her face. Taking off, she allowed the smile to show on her face. _'Damn brat…making me feel like this.'_

* * *

"Well, now that we know the graduates, it's time we distribute them into teams," Minato stated. The assembled Jonin, along with his wife, all waited for him as he started to go over the first teams. "Team 7… Kakashi, you will take my son, Sasuke Uchiha, and Hinata Hyuuga. They will be trained as an assault team."

"I look forward to working with them, sensei," the man replied with his famous eye smile.

"Team 8 will be led by Kurenai. You'll take Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Sakura Haruno. You'll be a tracking team with Sakura taking genjutsu lessons from you since there was a note Iruka made about her exceptional chakra control."

Kurenai nodded, though she fought a frown at not getting Yakumo. The girl was a genjutsu prodigy and she would've loved to have a chance to help her grow into the art.

"Team 9 is still active under Gai, so Team 10 will have the new Ino-Shika-Cho, and they will be led by Asuma," continued Minato, before he offered a warning. "Tradition is important, Asuma, but try to help them branch out their skills."

"Will do, sir," Asuma replied with a firm nod.

Going through two more teams, Minato then turned to his wife. "Kushina, you'll take Team 13. Your students will be Hanabi Hyuuga, Yakumo Kurama, and Naruto Fuyōna. I want them to be an infiltration and trap team."

"Got it, ttebane," she replied with a pleased grin. Two skilled girls and the boy she wanted to take under her wing for sealing. It was a good team in her eyes.

"You'll meet your teams tomorrow, so for now you're dismissed." The assembled Jonin all left while Kushina remained. "What do you think of the teams?"

"Well, they're all good, though I'm surprised you put the Kurama girl with me instead of Kurenai. Why is that?"

"Iruka noted how well she had bonded and grown with Naruto as her friend. Along with that is Hanabi's growth due to being his rival. The way I see it, the three of them will only help one another get better and you'll be there to help them even further."

"I see," she said with an understanding nod. "Well, I can't wait to meet them."

* * *

Naruto yawned as he sat in his seat, flanked by his two friends. "Does he _ever_ shut up?" he murmured quietly to Hanabi as they listened to Iruka go through a farewell speech.

"I believe that he may enjoy hearing himself talk," she replied just as quietly, making him smirk at the joke while Yakumo giggled quietly.

"So, without further ado," continued Iruka, "it's time to meet your sensei."

At that, Jonin began to file into the room and take their teams. Hanabi noted that her sister was blushing quite brightly when she was announced to be on Bolt's team. While she rolled her eyes, she still smiled for her twin's good fortune.

"Alright, ttebane!" called out a woman's voice. "I need Hanabi Hyuuga, Yakumo Kurama, and Naruto Fuyōna to come with me!" The three Genin took in the presence of Kushina Uzumaki as she grinned confidently. "I'll be your sensei and we'll be Team 13! Meet me at Ichiraku Ramen!"

As soon as she finished, she vanished in a swirl of leaves while the Genin team looked to each other. Standing up, Naruto asked unsurely, "I guess we shouldn't keep her waiting…?"

Hanabi shrugged while Yakumo gave an unsure laugh as she followed him and Hanabi out the door, all of them wondering about their new, excitable sensei.

* * *

 **And there you have it! Chapter Three is now up for you all! Tell me what you think of it!**

 **As you noticed, Naruto's eyes change when he uses snake jutsu that Orochimaru was known for. Also, he can naturally do what Orochimaru had to experiment on his body for (i.e. making his legs change into a snake's body). The reason will come later, but I'm sure you guys can figure it out!**

 **As for Kushina, she believes Naruto being made from her eggs is possible, but she's holding off on finding out for sure. But…is Minato fine with holding off?**

 **Until next time!**

 **pain17ification**


	4. Chapter 4: Team or Family

**Hi guys! Here's the next installment!**

 **I own NOTHING!**

* * *

 _I'm Not My Father_

 _Chapter Four: Team or Family_

* * *

"Anyone know where Ichiraku Ramen is?" asked Naruto as he and his two teammates walked down the village streets.

"Nope," Yakumo answered with a guilty smile.

"I never had a reason to visit such a place; so, no," informed Hanabi. "This wouldn't have been an issue if our sensei had just led us there."

"Maybe she's testing our resourcefulness?" suggested the Kurama heiress.

Naruto hummed thoughtfully. "There's a thought." He stopped walking and turned to the two of them. "One of you ask for directions."

Hanabi frowned in distaste. "Why?"

"Obviously, none of us know how to get to our destination. So, the best thing we can do for now is ask for directions. Another obvious thing is me not asking, and I doubt I need to explain _why_."

Yakumo cringed at the reminder while Hanabi's frown deepened by a fraction. The Hyuuga would've said something, but Yakumo took things into her own hands and asked a random villager, who was more than happy to give help to a clan heiress. After a moment, she returned to her teammates and took point, leading them to a small building that was the Ichiraku Ramen Stand.

And sitting at a stool, with three empty bowls next to her, was Kushina Uzumaki; their new sensei. As soon as the trio entered through the curtain flaps, she greeted them without turning from her meal. "Nice of you three to make it. Get lost?"

"Kinda hard to get lost when you have no idea where you're going in the first place," responded Naruto with a sigh. He leaned against a wall while Hanabi and Yakumo took seats on each side of Kushina.

While the elderly man who obviously ran the place took their orders (though only Yakumo ordered something), Kushina gave her only male student a sidelong glance. In an instant, thanks to years of training, she was able to read how he was feeling based on his stance and expression; and it saddened her.

He was nervous, but he was hiding it with a façade of calm. It was apparent to her that he was still wary about new places being tolerant of his presence because of his heritage, and it bothered her how people would so blindly hurt a young man with such potential because of something out of his control.

Sometimes, she felt disgraced for her home's people.

"Yes, I suppose I should've taken that into account. Sorry if I troubled you three, ttebane."

The three nodded, accepting her apology. "So sensei," began Yakumo as she enjoyed her ramen, "what will we start training in first?"

"Ah yes," Kushina noted thoughtfully. "No one really told you three, did they?" At their confused stares, she elaborated, "The test you took at the Academy was actually more like a _first impression_ that you impart on your potential sensei. It's the system's way of weeding out those who have practically no chance of making it as a ninja."

"Oh, thank the Kami," Naruto sighed out, showing immense relief. "I was afraid that excuse of a test was really the village's way of seeing if we were ready. So, I'm guessing you have a final test for us, sensei?"

"Yes, I do. Tomorrow morning, I want you three to meet me at Field 8. There, I will test you all personally and see just where you stand in terms of ninja skill." She was pleased to see the three of them looking eager. "So, I suggest that you be prepared, get plenty of sleep, and be sure to have something in the morning so that you have plenty of energy. If you don't, then you better not blame me if I run your ass into the ground, ttebane."

"Yes, sensei," the three of them simultaneously replied.

"Good. I'll see you then," the Uzumaki matriarch bid before she left in a swirl of leaves, leaving money for the bill on the counter.

Hanabi was the first out of her seat. "I'll see you two tomorrow then," she said before she was on her way.

Yakumo then got off her seat, approaching her friend while awkwardly rubbing her arm. "Ne, Naruto-san?"

"Yes?" he replied.

"Would… Would you mind walking me home?" she requested shyly, keeping her gaze averted.

A brow rose on his face. "Everything alright?" he asked in concern.

"Not really… I was just hoping for some company."

"Oh." He was honestly caught off guard here. He had never been asked for something like this before. "Uh, sure I guess."

She lost her shy look and smiled gratefully. "Thank you," she said as she began to lead him to her clan's compound.

Unknown to them, Hanabi hadn't gotten far when she first left the stand. She had heard the request, as well as her rival's acceptance of it. She didn't know why, but a part of her felt…conflicted about the scenario. The confliction gave birth to confusion, and in her confusion she slowly walked home; lost in her thoughts on why she was feeling this way.

* * *

"And this is it," stated Yakumo as she and her friend approached the gates guarded by two clan members. "This leads to the compound, so you just need to come here if I'm being held up for clan business."

"Good to know," Naruto replied sincerely. It was useful to know where he could potentially find his teammates if there was an emergency situation at hand. "Well, I enjoyed our walk, Yakumo-san. I'll see you in the morning."

She bit her lip as he turned to leave. "A-Are you sure you don't want to stay for some tea or something?" she asked.

The young man shook his head with a polite smile. "No, I wouldn't want to intrude. Besides, I'd need your parent's permission before I could even set foot in your clan's perimeter. Maybe another time when we both have more free time."

"Oh… Okay then," she replied, looking down slightly. "I'll just…see you in the morning then. Goodnight, Naruto-san."

"Same to you," he bid in return as she entered her home. Once she was gone, he turned back down the road and made for his home in the Red Light District. It took him some time to get there, due to walking at a sedate pace, but he still made it before dusk. Entering his apartment, he was greeted to the same rundown place he had called _home_ for years.

The place was old with later model appliances and damaged floors/walls; but it was still a decent place to live on a low budget. He hung his robe, showing the results of his training under Anko to no one as he proceeded to remove his arm belts and gloves. He was careful to place the arm belts down gently since they had been weighted with seals that he had made while he casually tossed his gloves onto a small stand near the door. Lastly, he removed his sandals and was left in nothing more than his black pants.

Moving over to his small two-cushion couch, he sat down and leaned against its backrest, staring up at his ceiling in thought. "So…our sensei is the legendary Red Habanero of the village; known for both her fierceness on the battlefield and her red hair. But, she's also an Uzumaki; hailing from the clan that made fuinjutsu so feared and respected." His eyes narrowed as recollections of what he read on the lost clan ran through his mind. "So far, no other survivors have been reported, leaving Kushina-sama and her son, Bolt, as the last two Uzumaki on record. Kushina-sama was also said to be extremely close to Mito-sama; having been chosen by her to succeed her as Jinchūriki of the Kyuubi."

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees while his eyes were still glazed in deep focus.

"Because of her closeness to Mito-sama, and her relationship with Hokage-sama, it shouldn't be too much of a stretch to say that Kushina-sama is, at the _bare minimum_ , adept in sealing. So, she should be able to help me further my own studies in the art. Although, that doesn't explain why Bolt showed no aptitude for sealing beyond basic storage scrolls and explosive tags." He chuckled to himself, still lost in thought. "Then again, he only seemed to show active interest in ninjutsu and taijutsu; both of those branches being more favored towards frontline combat. So, maybe he just doesn't have an interest in the art the Uzumaki were famous for…"

A loud knock at his door finally broke him from his thoughtful trance and he stood up to open it. On the other side of his entryway was Anko, who had an unopened jar of sake in her hand while an empty dango stick acted like a toothpick in her mouth. "Yo, gaki!" she greeted. "Mind if I come in?"

He didn't answer verbally and just walked back towards his couch, leaving the door open for her to enter. "Please close the door on your way in," he requested as he resumed his position on the couch, staring at the floor in thought.

Anko saw this and said nothing, knowing how he tended to drown out practically everything when he was like that. It was why she knocked louder than socially acceptable, because she had a feeling he was in another _trance_ as she liked to call it.

 _'So, what's on your mind this time, kid?'_ she mused as she pulled out a small scroll and unsealed some dango and a clean sake dish.

While the woman enjoyed her treat, Naruto continued his thoughts on the Uzumaki. _'I wonder if Kushina-sama would be willing to take extra time to help me in fuinjutsu; even if we don't pass her test tomorrow.'_ He blinked before sighing and nearly palmed his face. _'Dammit all… I should be more focused on my test and not favors for extra training. My career will go nowhere if I don't pass tomorrow.'_ He frowned again. _'And then I won't be able to explore the nations and learn all that I can. I can't afford to get ahead of myself. So…what seals should I prepare for tomorrow?'_

He then began to mentally list seals he could use effectively, along with different strategies and tactics that he could present to his potential teacher. A large part of him was nervous, knowing just how dangerous Kushina could be as a kunoichi; but he couldn't let his nerves keep him from at least making a lasting first impression.

Standing up, he made his way to a corner desk, turning on the small lamp that was on it as he pulled out some ink, a brush, and a stack of blank tags. Anko saw this, and took note that he had finally exited his _trance_ ; so she asked, "What's cooking in that brain of yours, kid?"

"I'm making some tags for tomorrow. Kushina-sama is to be our team's sensei, and I wanted to show her my best seals and how far I've come as a practitioner of fuinjutsu."

The woman whistled lowly at that, grinning widely. "Damn, the big man's wife is your possible teacher? If you and your team passes, then you guys are golden!" She then had a thought. "Who are your teammates, anyway?"

"Hanabi Hyuuga and Yakumo Kurama," he answered without stopping his progress on preparing seal tags.

"The heiress given a second chance and your girlfriend, eh?" she asked teasingly, finally making him stop abruptly and turn to her with a red face.

"She's not my girlfriend, dammit! She's just my friend and my rival; that's all!"

"Really? Because you seem to be reacting _pretty_ strongly about this, kid." Her grin grew as she continued, "You _sure_ you don't have the hots for her? I mean, it's not like it'd be a bad choice. She's an heiress, a skilled kunoichi from what I've seen, and she's cute in a spitfire kind of way. I say you should go for it!"

"For the last time," he stressed, "she's not my girlfriend, and I don't see her that way! She's my closest friend – besides you," Anko had to fight showing how touched she was, "and I don't want anything more than that from her! Besides, who would…?" He stopped himself short before turning back around to his desk and to his work. "…Who would ever see me _that_ way in this place? All people see when they look at me is _him_ …"

Anko wasn't able to stop herself from cringing at his last statement. Even after over a year of having him under her wing, the young man still had issues in self-confidence; especially where his father's reputation was concerned. He would have moments where he _was_ confident and proud, but those moments were easily washed away by the looks of distrust and fear from others.

 _'No matter where we go,_ his _shadow still hangs over us…'_ mused Anko with a frown. Walking over to him, she patted his shoulder in reassurance, earning his attention. "Sometimes…people could surprise you. They could look past that veil that's placed over you and see the true person within…" she smiled and finished, "just like I did with you."

He slowly smiled back at her. "…Thanks, Anko-nee."

She nodded once before clearing her throat to hide her embarrassment. "Alright, that's enough of the sappy stuff. Let's go over your strategy for tomorrow."

* * *

Kushina was sitting at her home's kitchen table late in the evening with the files of her three students opened in front of her. A cup of hot tea was in her hands as she looked them over, checking for anything that could help her understand them and train them more efficiently.

For Yakumo, she saw that the girl had a slight case of social anxiety; mainly revolving around trust. This stemmed from how Kurenai was meant to teach her about higher forms of genjutsu, but then quit when the girl's inner demon kept influencing her. It wasn't until Kushina sealed away that demon that Yakumo was allowed to reenter the Academy as a student; but the damage had been done and the girl was distant with others.

Surprisingly – or perhaps it should have been expected – another outcast had been the one to connect with her; Naruto. The two had apparently bonded over a similar interest in unappreciated ninja arts and a friendship was slowly formed. It was even noted that Naruto helped Yakumo in terms of physical conditioning while she helped him in genjutsu studies.

Next was Hanabi, the heiress who won the title from her sister, Hinata. The girl was good – great even – with her slightly improvised version of the Hyuuga taijutsu. She also had impressive chakra control and knew the Academy jutsu perfectly; but that was all she knew in terms of ninjutsu. The Uzumaki woman knew that she'd have to fix that, regardless of how Hiashi felt about it. Few ninja could make it without _some_ form of ninjutsu; Might Guy and his protégé were a couple of those _very few_ exceptions.

But, just like with Yakumo, the girl had most of her improvements because of her bond with Naruto. The two were rivals that were even in the beginning; though Naruto started to take more losses when he began helping Yakumo. Still, Hanabi pushed herself more when it came to that rivalry between them, and it was noted by Iruka that she was much more open with Naruto than other students; save for her sister.

Lastly, there was Naruto; the "Unwanted Maelstrom". She frowned at this, sad that the boy had found solace in taking such a demeaning name and angry at the orphanage matrons for "offering" it to him. However, even with such a name, the boy showed talent. With just _one_ person taking an active part in his training, he was able to improve exponentially in various fields.

She'd have to remember to thank Anko and let her keep teaching him their shared skills.

But there were two things that kept her interest on him. The first was his great interest in her peoples' most feared art. She had hoped to pass on her knowledge of fuinjutsu to her son, Bolt, but he was more interested in the more common ninja arts like ninjutsu and taijutsu. However, now she had a chance to pass on those skills to someone who actively wanted to learn.

The second thing that kept her interest was one of her talks with her husband. Orochimaru had taken her donated eggs, and she was both upset and angry about that. However, there was a chance that Naruto could be her child, and she was conflicted about that. She wanted to check as soon as possible, but she also felt like she should wait for some kind of proof to present itself.

It was maddening to her, but one thing was for certain in her mind; she _wanted_ it to be true. She _wanted_ to see that Naruto was her child. The boy had taken a lot of scorn from the village and only had a handful of people actively support him. A large part of her wanted to be one of those people, to be someone who gave him the support he deserved.

"The test…" she murmured as she finished her tea and closed the files. With a determined gleam in her eyes, she declared, "I'll check after the test, ttebane." However, something lingered on her mind, making her anxious as she went to her and Minato's room for the night. "Naruto… If you _are_ my child…will my family see past the snake and accept you?"

* * *

The next morning found Team 13 waiting for their sensei to show up. Each of them were preparing for the test in their own way. Yakumo was doing some simple stretches that Naruto had shown her when they had first started her conditioning. She was using them to "wake up" her muscles and nerves. Hanabi was sitting against a tree in silence with her eyes closed and her breathing calm. Her mother, Hitomi, had always told her that a calm mind will also calm the body, allowing one to think and act clearly. It was a fundamental teaching of the Gentle Fist.

As for Naruto, he was using a brush and ink to make last minute seal tags, just in case the ones he had on him weren't enough. Then again, it wouldn't be _just in case_ , it'd be more like _necessary backups_ ; especially with his team's sensei as their tester. Barely shifting, he also allowed a hidden component of his strategy to get comfortable beneath his full body robe.

All three of them were broken out of their preparations and thoughts when a familiar woman appeared in a swirl of autumn colored leaves. Grinning enough to crinkle her eyes shut, Kushina greeted, "Good morning, students! Are you three ready for your test?" As one, the three Genin nodded. "Excellent! Now, your test is simple; I want the three of you to try your best to restrain me."

"Restrain you in what way, sensei?" Yakumo asked curiously.

"This team is meant to grow as an Infiltration and Trap Team, with a healthy dose of Saboteur thrown in. So, I want the three of you to use your combined skillsets to corner me into a position I can't get out of. Now, I know it isn't really fair of me to have you three try and capture a Jonin, so I'm going to handicap myself so that you three can effectively show me what you've got."

She unsealed a clock from a tag she pulled out of her pocket before setting it on a training log. Once it was settled, she turned the key on the back enough times to show her students that they had three hours to try and capture her.

"Once this timer goes off, the test is over. However, you can end the test early if you three successfully capture me. Now, to handicap myself, I will only use skills up to a freshly made Chunin." The three of them nodded and she saw them itching to get started, making her smile return. "Your time starts…now," she said before tapping the timer to begin. As soon as she did, she saw the three Genin leap away for cover, finding a spot to remain hidden. "Let's see what the three of you got, ttebane," she mused to herself.

* * *

With the Genin, they were all situated on tree branches that were interlocking enough for them all to sit down together. "We need a plan," Hanabi started. "I know what my contribution will be best towards, and it'd be to seal off her chakra."

"That's true, but you'd have to get in close," Naruto pointed out. "And to do that, you'll need a distraction."

"I could do that," Yakumo suggested. "Although, I'm not sure how effective my genjutsu will be on sensei; even _with_ her handicapping herself."

Naruto closed his eyes in thought. "…We could lead her into an area where the odds are more in our favor, and then give an all-out assault towards her capture."

"How do you suggest we do that, Naruto-san?" queried Hanabi.

"I can go set up an area with as many seal tags as I can. I've been working on barrier seals, so I think I might be able to make an effective _gate_ that will cut off her escape."

"But sensei is amazing at fuinjutsu," Yakumo stated. "She was the one who sealed away my darker self and let me return to the Academy. Even if you could make a gated area, she could easily remove it."

Hanabi nodded in agreement. "True, she could. However, if she's really going to handicap herself to fresh Chunin level skills, then she might leave the gates up."

"It's a gamble, for sure," Naruto mused. "But, it's one we'll have to take. With her exits cut off, Hanabi and I can run combat to distract her enough for Yakumo to use her genjutsu." He looked to the Kurama heiress and continued, "We'll only need a few moments of her being subjected, giving us enough time to seal her chakra and restrain her. Think you can do that?"

She was nervous at having so much riding on her genjutsu, but she nodded. "I'll… I'll do my best, Naruto-san."

"Your best is enough," he assured with a small smile before he stood up. "I'll go prepare the seal tags. Try and test the waters a little with guerilla tactics; hit-and-run attacks."

"Got it," Hanabi agreed as she saw her friend/rival leave. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Yakumo watching him leave with a worried look. Though, she also saw her lips form a faint smile. Ignoring it, she too stood up. "Let's get moving. Sensei won't wait for us to plan forever. She'll take the initiative soon."

"Right. I'll follow your lead, Hanabi-san," Yakumo replied before she leapt after her Hyuuga teammate.

* * *

"So bored," sighed out Kushina as she sat in a lotus position with right her elbow on her right knee and her chin resting on the palm. "I know they need time to plan, but couldn't they at least throw out some shuriken or something?"

It had been nearly half an hour after the timer started. She was hoping they would beat the clock and give her a good run, but she knew that a test like this needed time. They couldn't rush through it, or else mistakes were inevitable. But at the same time, they couldn't take too long or else the simulation fails due to their target having the opportunity to make a successful getaway.

Not giving away anything, her mind perked up as she felt the chakra sources of her two kunoichi students. _'Odd… Where's Naruto?'_ She made a show of stretching her arms upward – even letting her shoulders and elbows pop – so that she could see what their tactic was. _'If I had to guess, I'd say that he's most likely setting up traps while the girls will force me to move toward them.'_ She rolled to her left to avoid some kunai before throwing a handful of shuriken, forcing Hanabi out of her hiding spot. _'A basic tactic,'_ continued the woman's thoughts as she used a kunai to deflect a shuriken volley from Yakumo, _'but they no doubt know it is. I know I said_ fresh Chunin _but they're going to need more advanced strategies for the future.'_

"Eight Trigrams: Air Palm!" cried Hanabi as she leapt out of the trees and into the air, thrusting her arms forward consecutively. From her palms came concentrated bursts of air that shot at the redheaded Jonin.

 _'Interesting,'_ she noted as she evaded the attacks. _'I wasn't aware she knew an advanced Hyuuga technique.'_ She paused her thoughts when she felt Yakumo's chakra land behind her and build up. _'And just what will you show me, Yakumo-chan?'_

"Water Style: Liquid Bullets!" the heiress called out before she spit out high speed water balls that were the size of grapefruits at the woman.

 _'Aww,'_ she mentally gushed as she easily swerved out of the shots' pathways. _'I remember when I gave her the scroll for that jutsu! I'm so proud of you for learning how to use it so well, Yakumo-chan!'_ She saw them standing next to one another in ready stances, and she stood calmly with her hand resting against her hip. "That can't be it. C'mon now, don't use such amateur techniques on me; especially one that I gave you."

Hanabi smirked. "Who says that they're amateur sensei?"

"We were never really here," Yakumo informed her, and wasn't surprised when Kushina instantly shattered the illusion.

She expanded her senses and felt the girls heading westward. "Not bad using an illusion between the fight. You even had Hanabi use Hyuuga tactics effectively." She sighed with an amused smile. "Well, might as well go see what they have planned for little old me." She then paused before gaining a tic mark. "I-I mean little _young_ me, ttebane!"

Her good mood was gone as she leapt after her students, grumbling about not being an "old maid" the whole way.

* * *

"Come on…" Naruto urged in a hushed tone as he tasted the air, feeling Kushina get closer to him and his team. "Just a bit more…"

Hanabi's Byakugan was active to help keep an eye on the woman. "She's just a few yards out." Without turning to Naruto, she asked, "Are you sure your seals will work?"

"No," he answered sincerely. "I'm still pretty new at barrier seals, and Reverse Barriers are advanced level."

Yakumo frowned slightly. "We can't dwell on that now. If they work, they work. If not, then we'll think of something."

"Well, we'll find out now," Naruto stated as he activated the seals around the perimeter her made. They all lit up a bright violet before a similar colored aura stretched upward about twenty feet before each seal began to connect, making a closed off area that held the three Genin and single Jonin.

Seeing the barrier seal actually made Kushina pause and give an impressed look. _'Incredible. So young, and yet he can already make a decent barrier. Granted, it's still unstable and can be taken out with a C-Ranked jutsu, but it's still impressive.'_ She regarded her students, grinning at the three of them while her gaze lingered on Naruto for a few moments longer than the other two. _'I knew I chose a good student for fuinjutsu.'_

"Ready?" Naruto asked his teammates.

"Yes/Ready," Hanabi and Yakumo replied respectively.

"Then let's go!" cried the son of the White Snake as he and Hanabi charged forward while Yakumo took to the trees.

(Play " _Scherzo Di Notte_ ")

Hanabi made sure to move slower than Naruto who unsealed twin kunai from his palms. Kushina met his charge with a single kunai and easily deflected him before using her forearm to block a spinning kick from Hanabi. With her momentum stopped, the Hyuuga was unable to stop the Uzumaki from grabbing her ankle and tossing her aside.

As soon as she tossed away Hanabi, Kushina spun away from a lunging attack from Naruto and kicked him in the chest. However, her leg went right through him and he faded. _'Damn, a clone,'_ she noted before throwing her shuriken like a missile at the trees, forcing him to drop and fly through handseals.

"Fire Style: Blazing Snake Trail!" he roared, blowing forth fire that took the form of a man-sized snake. The flaming snake went forward linearly, traveling fast and in a swerving manner.

"Not bad," praised the Jonin as she leapt over the snake and saw it crash into a tree. _'So, that jutsu only moves in a single path; best used in narrow areas. Is his affinity fire?'_

"Air Palm!" cried Hanabi after she threw some kunai. The air strike pushed the kunai forward at greater speed, but Kushina dodged by bending her backwards and letting the weapons fly over her.

However in mid-dodge, she looked up and saw Naruto above her with his arm bands in his hands. His arms were reared back before they flew forward, throwing the bands downward at her. She didn't want to wait and see what would happen, so she used a Replacement Jutsu to get out of there.

As soon as the bands landed, they struck the ground with enough force to crack it while some of the bands actually sank into the softer dirt. This made her raise a brow with a smirk. _'Well, well… How unconventional to use your own weights as weapons. I'm honestly surprised he's using weights so early in his career.'_

She spied from her hiding spot, dropping her chakra to the barest minimum as she saw Naruto and Hanabi standing back to back. Though she almost missed it, she saw a tan snake move from beneath Naruto's robe and circle the two Genin as it grew in size. Where once it was the width of an arm, it was now twice that width and around fifteen feet.

"Anything, Mashiro?" asked Naruto.

 _"Nothing yet,"_ the snake answered as she tasted the air. Then, without warning, her body shot at a random tree and coiled upwards on its base, charging at Kushina.

Kushina leapt out of her spot and landed on the ground, doing a single roll before stopping in a crouch with a handseal. "Water Style: Needle Storm!" She shot forth a large ball of water that broke apart and shot forward in a burst of liquid needles.

"Move!" Naruto cried as he shoved Hanabi away and hit the deck, letting the needles fly over him. He then surprised everyone by shooting forward at high speed with his legs forming together into a white snake's tail. Giving a sideways look and nod, he gave Yakumo the signal and she activated her jutsu.

"Genjutsu: Point Break," she said softly as she aimed the jutsu at their sensei.

Too focused on Naruto's serpentine change, Kushina wasn't prepared for time to pause for a moment. She instantly recognized it as a genjutsu and was about to dispel it, but she found it breaking on its own, shattering the area around her.

(End Music)

Her chakra felt distorted and she saw that a seal tag had been placed on her stomach while her arms had numb spots. She also saw Naruto with a kunai pointed at her while Hanabi was ready to strike more chakra points. Yakumo also leapt down from her perch and held her hands in another seal.

"Damn…" she began before an amused chuckle escaped her lips as they all heard the timer go off. "Right on time. Nice job you three! You passed!"

Yakumo was the first to react, and she gave a happy cheer before surprising Naruto, and Hanabi, by hugging the boy. "We did it! We passed!"

Hanabi's reaction had been subdued by Yakumo's, unable to understand why a part of her wanted to pull the Kurama heiress off of her rival. Naruto was unsure of how to respond to this kind of situation, so he just stood still with a confused look on his face.

Their reactions made Kushina fight back a laugh. _'Oho! I smell a love triangle!'_ she thought while mentally giving into her laughter.

"Uh, Yakumo-san? Do you mind letting me go?" asked Naruto awkwardly.

"O-Oh! Sorry!" she apologized as she let him go and stepped back, her face red with embarrassment.

"It's okay. I uh…" he was blushing too, "I just wasn't expecting it…ttebayo."

Kushina froze at that, eyes wide while a soft gasp escaped her. Unaware of their sensei's shock, Hanabi rose an amused brow. " _-ttebayo_? I never knew you had a verbal tic, Naruto-san."

His blush grew in embarrassment. "I don't know where it came from, actually. It just pops up sometimes, y'know."

"I um," began Yakumo, still trying to calm her own blush, "I think it's cute."

As the three continued to talk about Naruto's embarrassing verbal tic, Kushina was still frozen in shock. Of all the things she could've witnessed as some kind of proof of her connection to Naruto, she wasn't expecting _that_.

 _'_ … _Sochi…?'_

* * *

 **And there you go after a long wait that I apologize for! That was Chapter Four!**

 **As you can see, Kushina has now witnessed some form of link between herself and Naruto! And with her plan to have a paternity test, will she finally have SOLID proof?**

 **Also, just what does Yakumo feel for her enigmatic teammate? How does Hanabi feel about Yakumo's feelings? And will Naruto survive the triangle he's unknowingly found himself in?**

 **Until next time!**

 **pain17ification**


	5. Chapter 5: Identity

**Hi guys! Here's the next installment!**

 **I own NOTHING!**

* * *

 _I'm Not My Father_

 _Chapter Five: Identity_

* * *

It was late in the evening at the home of the Hokage's family. For the second night in a row, Kushina was seated at her dining table looking over some files. Next to her was a half-finished cup of tea that had lost much of its initial heat over the time she spent reading.

In front of her was the file of her new male student, who was the biggest enigma to her. Just when she thought she had him figured out as a lonely boy who had no family, something comes up that shakes her to the core.

One word.

One verbal tic.

That's all it took for her to take an even closer look at him and anything concerning him. She admitted that it was a small thing, since everyone had their own quirks; but this was too coincidental for her to ignore. Only one other person shared a tic that was similar to her own, and it was her child, Bolt. Where she used _ttebane_ on occasion, her son used _ttebasa_ instead whenever he was excited, flustered, or caught off guard.

But Naruto… He said _ttebayo_ …

It was tantalizingly close to her own tic that she couldn't get it off of her mind. So, she pulled out everything she could concerning him from school records, medical files, and anything else. Normally, such access would require high clearance; but being the spouse of the village leader had perks.

"Father is Orochimaru Yamata," she read, frowning at the photo of said man when he was still loyal to the village. "Mother was a refugee named Shojo Seīki (1) who was eventually discovered to be carrying the child of Orochimaru in her. Blood type B, matching Orochimaru's…as well as mine."

She studied both pictures of Naruto's supposed parents, comparing them to his own picture his file had. By all accounts, he looked like a clone of his father save for some differences. For starters, he had some red in his hair that subtly highlighted itself amongst the ebon black. For another, his facial markings were pure black while Orochimaru had purple ones. He also had a more rounded face compared to the narrowed one his father had. Lastly, his eyes were violet, not amber.

Looking at Shojo's picture, she couldn't see a link between her and Naruto at all. She was a woman with midnight blue hair; totally different from the red Naruto somehow had. Her eyes were also a common brown, she held no facial markings whatsoever, and her face was heart-shaped. Lastly, her skin tone was a healthy tanned coloration; not even close to the white skin color both Orochimaru and Naruto had.

"How could he have inherited _nothing_ from her? No hair color, eye color, _blood type_ ," she ranted softly, making sure not to speak too loudly. It was hard not to shout though, since the woman's blood type was Type O. "It's like she's not his mother at all… But that shouldn't be possible since she _birthed_ him."

She had heard of the woman when she was told that Orochimaru's child had been somehow delivered in the village hospital. From what she had heard, the woman was very ill during the last few days of her pregnancy, and her body had been too focused on developing Naruto to do anything for her. The result left her with only minutes to live after Naruto had been born, and Shojo made them count by pouring whatever love she could spare into the new baby before her life faded.

The woman was an inspiration, in Kushina's honest opinion. Not many people – especially those who weren't trained as ninja – could muster up the courage or skill to escape one of Orochimaru's facilities, find sanctuary in a Hidden Village, and grow to love a child that had been forcibly impregnated into her. Shojo bore no hatred or resentment for Naruto, dying with a tearful smile as she held him in her arms.

It was a tragic, yet incredibly heartwarming story… But it still did nothing to explain how Naruto inherited _nothing_ from her in terms of physiology.

She closed her eyes and took a breath before opening them to the unopened file to the left of Naruto's. This file was her own, and it showed that Naruto and her shared quite a few physical attributes. It was honestly a bit scary to her just how much they shared.

He had some red hair like her own; even if it was only a highlight compared to her full coloration.

His eyes were violet like her own.

His face was slightly rounded, just like hers was at his age.

His blood type matched hers.

And the final touch was their shared verbal tic.

Five things… All of them matching, or comparable to her character. It was too much to ignore now that she had taken time to compare them.

She composed her growing nerves with a deep breath before sealing away the two files to return to their original places. Tomorrow, she would have Naruto accompany her to the village hospital.

It was time for some closure.

* * *

"Hey mom," a young man's voice spoke aloud, sitting cross-legged before a small gravestone that held a name and date of death. "I passed my test earlier today. It was just as hard as I thought it would be." He gave a short chuckle. "My new sensei is as tough as I expected; tougher even. My teammates and I were barely able to catch her off guard to pass; and she handicapped herself quite a bit too."

He stared at the name on the gravestone, raising a hand to gently rub the carved lettering.

"…I wish you were here," he whispered, eyes growing wet. "It's so hard to leave my house without anyone to give me a reason to… Sure, Anko-senpai has turned around, and Hanabi has been a good rival…but it still hurts to wake up alone, come home to no one, and have nobody to wish you a good night."

He bowed his head, hiding his falling tears from the face of the gravestone through his hair. His shoulder shook as he failed to hold them back.

"Why did you have to die…?" he asked. "Why did I have to grow up alone and _unwanted_?" His sobs cut into his words as he finished, "What did… _*sob*_ …I do to… _*sob*_ …deserve this?"

Unknown to him, he had been followed by his rival. She felt guilty for spying on a private moment of his, but she was growing more curious about her friend and had decided to follow him after the team had some post-test ramen; the decision made by their new sensei.

It hurt to see him in so much pain, and she didn't understand why she felt such a thing. Usually she didn't really have such sympathy for anyone, save for her younger twin and their older cousin, Neji. But to feel like this for someone she had only known for about a year? It was odd to her.

Deciding that she had been rude for eavesdropping on his personal moment, she silently left the small cemetery that the Red Light District had. Everyone deserved privacy with the loved ones they had lost.

* * *

"You alright, gaki?" Anko asked her young on-occasion student as she stopped by for breakfast with him the following morning.

"I'll be okay," he answered honestly. "I visited my mother's grave last night."

Anko nodded in understanding. Sometimes she visited the graves of her parents, and it always left her subdued for a little while. "What'd you tell her?"

"That we passed Kushina-sensei's test yesterday and that I'm looking forward to what my career will look like in its early stages."

"…Anything you got out of your system?" she asked carefully, knowing that it could be a touchy subject.

He paused for a moment before resuming his breakfast. "A little bit… Not enough to really feel anything, though."

"I can understand that… But, just keep your head up, yeah?" She reached over and nudged his chin upward with a small grin. "Things will look up one day."

He gave a faint smile in response, thankful for her attempt to cheer him up. "I'll try, senpai."

"You'd better," she threatened playfully. "I don't wanna have to come over and beat you out of your funk again."

The two shared a small laugh at that before they left his apartment for their own daily agendas. For Anko, it was paperwork she had skipped the previous night concerning some inmates at the prison. For Naruto, it was meeting his team at the training field.

Along the way there, Naruto passed by the Clan Districts since they were the fastest route to his team's designated training field. He was surprised when he saw that Hanabi was waiting outside of her compound and started walking with him as he passed her.

"Good morning," she greeted politely.

"You too," he replied. "I'm surprised that you aren't already at the training field waiting for me and Yakumo-san."

She gave him a brief look that he couldn't decipher before answering him. "I decided to try and get to know you beyond the rivalry we had at the Academy. You said to me that I was your best friend, right?"

He blinked at the question, but slowly nodded. "Yeah…I did."

The faintest of smiles grew on her face. "Then I want to show you that I view our standing as more than just rivals. Having friends is…new to me, and I'm unsure of how to go about it."

"You don't need to do anything special," he tried to assure her. "This is new to me, too."

She chuckled at that. "Well then, this experience will be something we can go through together."

Though small, a real smile was on his face at her comment. "I'm looking forward to it, Hanabi-san."

She shook her head. "No need for the polite standing. Just call me Hanabi, and I'll call you Naruto."

The smile grew by a fraction. "Fine by me, Hanabi."

* * *

Kushina sat on the middle post with a welcoming smile aimed at her three newest students. All three of them stood in a line with the two kunoichi flanking Naruto. "First off, you all did very well yesterday. You were able to work together using each of your unique skillsets in order to catch me off guard; even when I wasn't fighting at my best." She saw Yakumo smile while Hanabi and Naruto both smirked. "Though, I should tell you now that the life of a ninja isn't as glamorous as kids like to believe."

"I never had any misconceptions of that," Naruto stated with a frown. "Considering who I was born from, I was able to open my eyes much earlier."

Hanabi added, "My clan has been known to use a rather crude seal on our Branch House. I can see the pain in their eyes and it's because of archaic traditions and ninja techniques."

Yakumo looked down and rubbed her arm. "I had an idea of what we might be told to do out in the field. You telling us what you just did only confirmed that idea, sensei."

Kushina gave a nod at all of their comments. "It's both good and bad that you all realized this at young ages. You're a bit more prepared for what will be expected of you, but at the same time you had to grow up and mature at an earlier age than what some parents might consider _natural_." Taking a breath, she got off of the post and motioned them all to follow her. "I told you all yesterday that this team would specialize as an Infiltration and Entrapment Squad, so this means that our focuses of training will be slightly different than the other teams. From what I could tell of the other Genin teams that graduated with you, they won't be as concerned with stealth, sabotage, or subterfuge as we will."

"What were the other teams with clan heirs told to focus on, Kushina-sensei?" Hanabi asked.

"Well, Team 7 has my son, Sasuke Uchiha, and your sister. They're being trained by Kakashi Hatake as a Frontal Assault Squad."

"That makes sense," Naruto spoke up. "The Uchiha are combatants to the core, with their Sharingan playing major support to their repertoire. Meanwhile, the Hyuuga allow them to spot incoming adversaries and potential weak points in battle formations or even enemy bases. And lastly, your son has your Uzumaki blood in him."

"Oh?" Kushina spoke up, smiling at him in interest. "And what does my blood have to do with Bolt-kun's placement?"

"Uzumaki were known for three things, sensei; their longevity, their unmatched aptitude for sealing, and their incredibly potent chakra. While Bolt-san doesn't seem to show much interest in sealing," he missed Kushina look depressed at that for a split second, "his chakra will play a big factor in helping him become the ninjutsu specialist that he seems to be aiming for."

"Plus the fact that he has two chakra cores inside of him, thanks to the Kyuubi," Hanabi added, making Kushina tense for a moment.

"Yes, those points all support the decision made," Kushina admitted. "If my son could learn to control that chakra, he'll be a major asset in the Assault Squads. But, we're getting off track. Team 8 has Shino Aburame, Sakura Haruno, and Kiba Inuzuka, with Kurenai Yuhi training them as a Tracker Squad."

Yakumo frowned at the mention of her first tutor. "Sakura's addition into that team seems…odd. She never showed any aptitude for tracking from what I could remember. Not to mention that...Yuhi-san doesn't give off the impression of a tracker either."

"I thought it was an odd setup too," Kushina agreed. "But, I'm deciding to take a _wait and see_ approach to that team. Lastly, we have Team 10, who Asuma Sarutobi is training as the next generation of Ino-Shika-Cho."

"Traditions on our end only make enemies stronger against us," Naruto noted.

"True, but Asuma has been ordered to have them branch out from their clan teachings. Thanks to him being an old member of the Twelve Fire Guardians, I believe he has the skills needed to help them improve."

Naruto shrugged and dropped the topic. "So, what will we be training in first, sensei?"

"The basics," she answered. "Today we will be performing the Tree Walking exercise; a ninja's bread and butter out in the field."

* * *

"Why wasn't I informed of this sooner?" Minato asked one of his archivers who was in his office. "When my wife takes files from the records, it needs to be told to me."

"I'm sorry sir," the woman apologized with a bow. "I thought she had told you when she requested them."

"What files did she take?" pressed the man, growing concerned.

"She took her own file and the file of Naruto Fuyōna, sir. She requested the files of her three Genin the night before their test, if I recall; but this time, she requested the boy's full file."

"What does that consist of besides public records?"

"It contains his citizenship file, his medical records, and his academic records, sir. I had assumed that she would be checking on each of her Genin one at a time." She had a guilty look on her face as she bowed again. "I'm sorry."

The Hokage sighed and waved her off. "It's fine. Just please keep me informed if she checks out any more files. That'll be all." He watched her scurry out of the office after that. "What do you make of this, sensei?" Minato asked to the empty office, prompting for Jiraiya to come in through the open window.

"Beats me, kid," the Toad Sage answered with a shrug. "This is the first time she's ever taken on a team, so maybe she's making sure not to miss anything concerning her students. I was the same way when I took you and your teammates all those years ago."

"Maybe I should ask her about it? Give her some advice, y'know," the blonde suggested.

"Up to you, but don't be surprised if she takes it the wrong way," Jiraiya warned.

"What do you mean?"

The Sannin laughed loudly at the clueless look on his old protégé's face. "Married to her for years and you still don't know what you're doing! I've never had a steady woman, and I know more about what pisses off women than you!"

Minato frowned at that, but then smirked as he fired back, "Because you've done everything that pisses off women already, right sensei?"

The older man gave an indignant shout at that before going off on one of his many "gallant speeches".

The bond between Pervert Teacher and Naïve Student at its best.

* * *

"Alright, I think that's enough for today," Kushina stated, her team having finished their third D-Rank mission today. "I'll see you all tomorrow morning, same time."

"Will our days together be mostly like this, sensei?" Yakumo asked.

"More or less. Each day will consist of some form of training, the afternoons will have us do some simulations, and then we'll take on a couple D-Ranks to end the day."

"What about one-on-one sessions?" Hanabi brought up.

"I'll have to get back to you on that. I want you all to get used to working together as a team and develop good symmetry before I do individual training. That make sense?"

"Yes, it does. Thank you, sensei," Hanabi replied.

"Good. Now, Naruto," the boy turned to her, "I need you to come with me for a little bit."

Her three students all looked confused at that. "What for, sensei?"

"I noticed something about your medical file when I was looking into your three," she explained, lying a little bit. "I wanted to get better clarification on it as soon as I could, so I figured we should do it now."

"Is it something worth concern?" he asked, showing slight worry.

"Somewhat," she answered before she began walking off. "Come on now, Naruto."

He watched her walk off before turning to his teammates. "I uh… I guess I'll see you both tomorrow."

"You'll let us know if anything's wrong, right?" Yakumo asked, getting closer while her face expressed deep worry.

He hesitated for a moment, turning to Hanabi as he thought it over. He saw that, while mostly composed, she was also concerned about him. "Yeah… I'll let you both know what's going on tomorrow," he promised before rushing off after their sensei.

Left alone, both kunoichi began to walk towards the Clan Districts. "…I hope everything's okay," Yakumo spoke up, her voice soft.

"He'll be fine," Hanabi immediately answered.

"How can you be so sure? You act like there's nothing to worry about. He could be really sick and we won't know until tomorrow!"

Hanabi frowned at her. The girl sounded far too concerned about Naruto, and it bothered her. "If you're so worried, then why not go with him?"

Yakumo frowned back. "I would if I didn't feel like he deserved his privacy. At least I'm showing concern for my teammate instead of acting like nothing's wrong! Isn't he your friend?!"

They both stopped walking and glared at one another. "You know nothing about the relationship between myself and Naruto," Hanabi bit out. "Stay out of things you don't understand."

"Naruto-kun's my friend too, Hyuuga-san," Yakumo bit back. "If something is wrong, then I'll be there to help him get through it; like a _real_ friend would."

Hanabi's fists were clenched at that, but she held herself back from lashing out. Instead, she turned and walked off. Yakumo did the same, but in another direction and with a frustrated huff.

* * *

It was stressful for Naruto to have to sit in a hospital room with his sensei and not know what was going to happen. He never really liked hospitals since he was given rather rude looks by the staff. Some of the physicians were neutral with him, and only a small handful treated him like any other patient; with kindness.

"Sensei…?"

"Yes?" she responded, looking up from her scroll.

"…Am I really sick, or is something else going on?" he asked.

Kushina saw the anxiety on his face and sighed. Rolling up her scroll, she gave him her full attention. "What do you think is going on?"

"A number of things, but I don't want to guess when you can just tell me what's happening."

"I will, you have my word. But Naruto…what could you remember about your mother?"

"Nothing. I only know what her name is and that she's buried in the Red Light Cemetery," he answered carefully. "Why…?"

Kushina was silent for a moment. "…I saw her information in your file, and I had some…concerns about her and you."

He frowned. "What do you mean by _concerns_?"

"Naruto, I want to tell you; I really do… But I don't want you to leave before my concerns could be dealt with. Please… I'm asking you to just be patient and wait."

He kept his frown, locking his violet orbs with her own. "…I don't have the best luck when putting my faith in other people, sensei," he said. "Is your concern really so important that you need me here?"

"Yes," she answered immediately with a serious expression.

A nurse coming in cut off anything else that might have been said. "Kushina-sama, Naruto-san, I hope you're both well."

"I'm fine," Kushina answered.

"I'm undecided," Naruto stated with his frown in place.

"Well, hopefully I could help you both. What did you need, ma'am?" the nurse asked.

The Uzumaki matriarch hesitated, trying to say what she wanted. She gave a sideways glance to Naruto, who hadn't turned his frown away from her. This made her say the words needed. "I was hoping for a maternity test to be performed for Naruto and his mother, Shojo Seīki."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock at that. "W-What…?"

"That can be arranged, but it'll take a little bit," the nurse answered after her own surprise settled. "Was there anything else?"

Kushina bit her lip before having the nurse come over so she could make the next request privately. At the woman's shocked look, Kushina said, "Please, just do it." The woman nodded hesitantly and Kushina watched her leave before turning to her student. "I'm sorry…"

"…why…?" he whispered, his voice expressing fear.

She pulled out another scroll and handed it to him, prompting him to open it and read his own file. "The woman in your file is your birth mother. When I was looking at your file, I noticed that you shared _nothing_ with her, Naruto… Hair color, eye color, facial structure, blood type; _nothing_."

"But I… I was born from her… She _delivered_ me…" he spoke softly, and Kushina heard the growing panic in his voice.

"I know…but I think I might have an idea of what's really happening…" He slowly looked to her, and she saw tears in the corners of his eyes. "Naruto…please, I need you to just wait here with me, and I _promise_ that everything will be explained. Please…"

He didn't answer and just sat there in silence. For Kushina, it was an agreement; but she felt horrible for what she was putting him through.

Around an hour later, the nurse came back with two sheets of paper on a clipboard in her hands. "Well, the results are here."

"And…?" pressed Kushina.

The nurse hesitated, seeing the look on Naruto's face. "The results…were negative, Kushina-sama," she informed.

"No…" Naruto gasped out, stepping away in horror. "But that's… That doesn't make any sense! I was in her womb! She gave birth to me! She DIED for me, dammit!" Tears were falling from his eyes as his voice grew louder. "You're lying! You have to be! Do you get some sick kick out of making me miserable too?! HUH?!"

Kushina didn't know what to tell him, and he recoiled away from her when she tried to move over to him. So, she kept her distance and asked the nurse, "What about my other request?"

"That result was positive," the nurse said softly. "I… I don't know what to say, ma'am."

"I see…" Her eyes closed and a tear fell down her cheek. "…Send copies of the results to my husband immediately. I…need a moment with him in private."

"Of course. Also, I'll be sure to have these results marked as private so that only the Chief of Staff, you, and Hokage-sama could view them."

"Thank you…"

Kushina waited for her to leave before looking at the test results in her hand. In her hands was irrefutable proof that the boy in the same room as her…was her child.

"Naruto…" she spoke up softly, watching as he was curled up in a corner and crying. "Naruto, please…look at me…"

"Why?" he asked, his voice muffled. "So you could see the result of your sick joke? So I could see you smile at my pain?"

She felt her heart clench at the pain in his voice. "…So you could see your mother's face," she answered. She saw him tense, but it didn't stop his tears. "I asked for two maternity tests, Naruto… One was for you and Shojo-san…and the other was for you and me."

Slowly, he uncurled his body and turned to her, eyes wide and tearstains on his cheeks.

"Years ago…Orochimaru had someone sneak into the village's hospital and steal some eggs of clan women. My eggs were one of the batches taken." She slowly began to walk over to him as she continued, "It was theorized that Orochimaru was planning to raise an heir, or even make a perfect vessel to transfer his soul to; like he had done in the past."

She had his full attention. "But…what about my…mother?"

"She was from a village that had been destroyed somewhere in the Land of Rice. She was most likely a carrier to develop you as you grew into a baby. But you were made from _his_ seed…and _my_ eggs, Naruto…" Tears formed in her eyes as she crouched down in front of him. She smiled through her tears and choked out, "You're my son, Naruto… And…I'm your mother."

His eyes grew wider throughout her explanation, and they were locked with her own. As he stared deep into her violet orbs, he saw sincerity, warmth…and love. He could practically feel it pouring out of her and washing over him.

"…mom…?" he whispered, and she nodded. "You're really…?"

She opened her arms out to him, and it was all he needed to leap into them and clutch onto her. Both mother and son were crying tears of joy as they held one another, neither wanting to let the other go.

"My precious boy," Kushina sobbed out, kissing the top of his head lovingly. "My Maelstrom…" She gently ran her hand through his hair, smiling warmly as he slowly fell asleep in her arms. _'Naruto-kun…I'll be here for you from now on…I promise…'_

* * *

 **1~ Shojo Seīki means** _ **Virginal (Innocent) Sanctuary**_ **. I figured that it was a fitting name for a woman who did so much for a child she was forced to carry and loved immensely as she gave her life for his.**

 **And there we go! Here's chapter five for you all!**

 **It's finally been revealed! Kushina now knows that Naruto is her son, and Naruto now knows that he has** _ **actual**_ **family in a village who scorns him.**

 **But, how will Minato respond? What about Bolt, or even the rest of the village? Will Naruto finally be accepted in his home, or will he be hated even more? Stay tuned to find out!**

 **Until next time!**

 **pain17ification**


	6. Chapter 6: Starting Fresh

**Hi guys! Here's the next installment!**

 **Disclaimer: _pain17ification_ owns nothing**

* * *

 _I'm Not My Father_

 _Chapter Six: Starting Fresh_

* * *

Kushina watched her estranged son as he rested on a hospital bed due to the stress he had gone through not even an hour ago. She couldn't blame him, especially since _she_ was the one that caused that stress.

"Not my best execution," she muttered to herself, chuckling awkwardly. "Still, at least now I know for sure."

She smiled softly, content to just watch Naruto sleep. Her eggs hadn't been wasted, and the product of them laid before her. While the method of their use would _never_ have been her first choice, she was relieved that her donation to the hospital wasn't in vain.

It made her guilty thinking this way, for it made it seem like she viewed Naruto as a thing and not a person. She clenched her trembling fist at what Orochimaru had done; but she couldn't fully thrust her rage onto the man. If he hadn't implanted her eggs into Shojo, she wouldn't have run off to the Leaf for sanctuary. It was by good graces that Shojo was chosen, leading to Naruto being born in the village.

"Orochimaru," she growled out, knowing _exactly_ what the twisted man wanted with her newly realized son. The body of an Uzumaki would be ideal for him to inhabit. "I won't let you have him, ttebane. He's _my_ child."

"So," a voice called, making her turn and see her husband walking up to stand next to her, "you found out?"

She turned back to the window, her gaze growing tender as she resumed watching Naruto. "Yes… Naruto, he…" She smiled faintly, but it held incredible warmth. "He's my son."

"I had my own suspicions," the blonde admitted. "I just wish you would've talked to me first before springing this on him. We could've eased him into it."

"No," Kushina denied immediately, getting his attention. "Naruto's very guarded with his trust. He thought I was trying to hurt him when he heard the truth; that I enjoyed torturing him. His eyes, they…" She shook her head sadly. "They reminded me of how I felt when I was made a Jinchūriki by Mito-sama…"

Minato wrapped an arm around her shoulders to support her. "What do you plan to do next, Kushina?"

"I want to have him move in with us; but, I know it'd be too big of a step. He has to fully accept what's happened before anything like that can happen; if it will at all, anyway." She took a breath to gather her thoughts. "For now, I'll support him however he needs me to. If he wants time to think or space from me, then I'll give it to him."

"That's probably for the best. If that happens, I'll have Anko train him some more while you focus on your other students."

"I hope it doesn't come to that, Minato-kun; I really do…"

* * *

The following day, Naruto left the hospital after thanking the staff for letting him stay in a vacant room. Heading to his apartment, he took some time to wash up and put on a fresh copy of his clothes before walking to the small cemetery his birth mother was buried in.

Sitting in front of her grave once more, he stared at the engraved name with a small smile. "Morning, mom… Things got pretty intense yesterday after team training. I...found out that Kushina-sensei is my blood mother; that I was born from her eggs through you."

His hands rested on his knees, clenching them as he trembled.

"It doesn't matter to me if she's the source of my birth. _You_ were the one who carried me, who nurtured me, and who birthed me. _You_ were the one who gave me love; even if it was in your dying breath." He smiled through his growing tears. "No matter what happens, you will always be my mother… I don't care if it isn't by blood. I feel it here," he rested a palm over his heart, "and I will treasure it." He got up and moved in front of the grave, kissing the top of it as a tear fell. "I love you…"

With that said, he left the cemetery. He felt a bit lighter after that talk, and he still had training with his team. He just hoped things wouldn't become awkward between him and Kushina.

* * *

The Genin of Team 13 arrived at their training field on time, but their sensei wasn't there waiting for them. It made the two kunoichi curious while Naruto wasn't too bothered by it.

"So," Yakumo began, speaking to him, "how did it go yesterday, Naruto-san?"

He looked to her and Hanabi, who also looked interested in his answer. "…It was really eye-opening. Turns out…I'm connected to Kushina-sensei in a way I never thought."

"Connected?" Yakumo repeated, her tone one of concern. "Is it a bad connection…?"

"Not really… It was just…unexpected. It really caught me off guard, but I'm not going to dwell on it."

"But what was the connection?" Hanabi pressed, and he saw that she too was concerned; she just hid it better.

"Sensei is…" He paused with a sigh, finding it a bit harder to admit to his teammates than he once thought. Telling his mother's grave was easy, because he told her everything that was happening; good or bad.

"If you'd like," Kushina spoke up as she entered the field, prompting her students to turn to her, "I could tell them, Naruto."

He shook his head. "No, I'll do it." He turned back to his teammates and revealed, "Sensei is…my blood mother."

Yakumo looked a bit confused while Hanabi looked thoughtful. "W-What does that mean?" the Kurama heiress asked.

"It means that Naruto was born from fertilized eggs that were implanted into another woman," their sensei explained, earning a grateful look from Naruto. It was hard enough for him to admit he had another mother, so she would explain _how_ he did. "The woman who carried Naruto would be categorized as his birth mother since he was pulled from her womb. However, the eggs used to start that birth were-"

"Your eggs," Hanabi finished with wide eyes, unable to hide how she really felt about the reveal. "…Naruto is your son…"

Yakumo gasped in surprised, her hands flying to her mouth at how scandalous the situation was. Naruto was obviously seen as an outcast because of who his father was. To find out that he's _also_ the son of the Uzumaki Matriarch? No one could blame her for being shocked.

"Yes," Kushina admitted. "Naruto is my child by blood." She turned to him with a soft smile, one of understanding. "But I know that I could never replace the woman who gave her life for you. She risked everything to bring you here while I'm still a stranger to you." At his nod, she added, "And if you need some time to sort this out, you may be excused from my training and have Anko instruct you for some time."

Her students were all taken aback by the offer. "I… I'll be okay, sensei," Naruto replied. "I know it's a lot to take in; but, I don't want to stop learning from you. After all," he finally returned her smile, "I still need to learn about my ancestral art."

Kushina's demeanor brightened up considerably at this, her joy at the thought of teaching him fuinjutsu displayed proudly on her face. "Yes! Yes, you do!" she agreed excitedly. _'Finally, I can pass down what Mito-sama taught me, ttebane!'_ she added in her thoughts.

With everything sorted out, the atmosphere around Team 13 grew lighter and they started off their training for the day.

* * *

"Well, rip off my scales and call me a worm," Anko declared with a grin, sitting on the roof of Naruto's apartment with said boy. "Never in my life did I think you'd be the kid of someone important."

"Me neither," Naruto agreed softly.

"But, we both know that this hardly changes anything. Kushina-sama may be your mother too; but she wasn't your _first_ mother."

"Thanks," he replied, giving her a grateful look for the words of comfort. "So, when will we continue my lessons in Snake Style jutsu?"

"Not for a little while, unfortunately. I've got a mission with a couple of Jonin that requires my skillset." At his depressed sigh, she smirked and nudged him with her arm. "Hey now, no brooding. I'm not leaving you all hung and dry, gaki. There's a scroll on your bed that goes over the Striking Shadow Snakes technique. It shouldn't be too hard for you to figure out."

He perked up at the information. "Thanks. Good luck on your mission."

Standing up and stretching, she returned, "Good luck with your team training. Also, what do you think of the D-Ranks so far?" She couldn't help laughing at the sight of his annoyed, borderline pissed off, expression. "Enjoy them while you can, gaki!" she teased before leaving in a burst of smoke.

"Damned sisters and keeping the truth from us," grumbled the Genin, feeling sorry for younger siblings who had to deal with teasing, secretive older siblings.

* * *

"Ready for your first lesson?" Kushina asked Naruto with an eager smile. It had been a week since they had found out the truth, and she was anxious to finally start instructing him on the finer intricacies of fuinjutsu.

"Yes," he answered, sitting across from her at their team's training field.

"Alright, I've seen the seals you've used and can tell you've made a lot of progress on your own. What's the highest caliber seal you've made successfully?"

"That reverse barrier I used during our Genin Test."

"Ah, barriers… Those can be finicky little bastards," she commented thoughtfully. "Some barriers only block specific things, while others cover broad categories; but can actually be weaker than specific barriers."

"That makes sense. The seal has to spend more energy covering more options compared to something singular, like a Fire Barrier."

"Exactly! Now, did you bring your notes?"

Nodding, he unsealed them from a scroll and handed them over. "Those are my notes concerning existing seals and how to improve or alter them. My personal notes are hidden away."

"Smart choice. Personal seals are tricky to make, and if someone were to find them, they could cause some serious harm since they won't know what you planned. Out of curiosity, would you mind sharing the goal of one of your seals?"

"I'd…rather keep that to myself for now, sensei," he awkwardly denied. While he was excited to learn sealing, he wasn't ready to share his personal notes just yet.

"I understand," she assured, giving him a smile. "How about I show you a seal that _I've_ made?"

"You don't have to," he tried to say, feeling guilty at the offer.

"Oh, I know that. I _want_ to, though." Her smile remained, but her voice softened as she added, "I want to share this with my son…"

He recoiled unconsciously, making her smile sadden. "I…"

"Naruto," she cut off gently, reaching across to place her hand on his. His violet eyes met hers, and they saw that she was expressing longing and understanding in them. "I know that the situation with us is…difficult. But, I need you to know that I'm here for you."

He looked away at that, his demeanor one of anxiety and nervousness.

"I'm not trying to take her place," she added, making him turn back to her with widened eyes. "Shojo was, and always will be, your mother too; a better one than I was."

"Sensei, you didn't-"

"That's no excuse," she interrupted firmly. "I had my suspicions for years now; but, I was waiting for more proof before I could lay them to rest. Even then, I could've done something to help you with your situation in the village."

He frowned at this. "I don't want your pity."

"It's not pity," she defended, her smile returning slightly; a painful one that got his attention. "It's kinship… Like you, Naruto, I was an outcast of the Leaf Village. I wasn't born here; I was immigrated. I was treated poorly by other kids, and it didn't help that Mito-sama had passed on the Kyuubi to me."

He stayed silent, letting her speak.

"I felt alone when I was growing up, with only a couple of people treating me kindly. Sometimes, I even thought of leaving because it was so hard to face the world when I was shunned for being an Uzumaki." She gave a bitter chuckle at that. "Not like I would've been able to leave anyway, since the Leaf wouldn't want to lose their Jinchūriki…"

Part of Naruto believed that she had been holding this in for years, and he felt both privileged and uneasy at possibly being the first to hear how she truly felt.

"So, I know what you're going through," she continued. "I don't pity you; I _understand_ you. And I want to understand you more," she grabbed the hand hers was placed on, gently squeezing it to show her support. "I want to be there for you as a teacher, a friend, and hopefully someday a mother. I'm meeting you halfway, Naruto." Her smile grew faintly. "I hope you meet me the rest of the way."

She released his hand, and part of him missed the warmth he felt. His gaze was locked on the ground in front of him, body sagged in depressed thoughtfulness. For so long, he had wanted someone to make that offer to him; to be there for him when he needed them. By all rights, he should've been happy.

But instead, he felt unsure. He wanted to accept, but the woman before him was an important figure in his life; one he only recently found out about. It made him hesitate, which made him anxious, which depressed him.

"We'll meet back here in a couple of hours," Kushina spoke up, making him look up slightly. "Take that time to clear your head, okay?"

She sounded so supportive, so understanding that it made him feel guilty for hesitating. He couldn't speak, and just settled for a nod.

"I'll bring something for us to eat, too," she added before vanishing in a Body Flicker.

Left alone, Naruto couldn't find the will to do anything more than sit in silence and think; the endeavor being difficult because of how jumbled his thoughts had become.

* * *

"Maybe I pushed too hard," Kushina mused with a sigh, sitting in her husband's office. "I don't want to lose him before I could get to know him…"

"He needs time to sort things out, Kushina," Minato assured her. "I was the same when I found out my parents had adopted me. I was so lost since I thought they were my parents my entire life."

"But they were," the Uzumaki woman argued.

"And I know that," he replied with his hands up placatingly. "But you have to understand the shock I went through because of it; knowing that what I believed wasn't completely true. That's how Naruto is feeling right now, most likely. His whole life, he thought that Shojo was his mother in both blood and name, and he had accepted that she isn't going to be in his life."

She listened attentively, hoping for a way to help Naruto warm up to her.

"Then along comes someone who is a big deal both inside and out of the village, showing proof that _she_ is his mother, and not the woman who died delivering him. His mind is still in shock, trying to pick up any pieces that may have broken off during that revelation."

"So, what do I do? Keep my distance like almost the rest of the village does?" she argued, her expression fierce. "I will _not_ do that to an innocent boy; especially when I know that he's my son!"

"And I'm not asking you to. All I'm suggesting is that you take things slower. If he looks uncomfortable, back off a bit; or you _will_ push him away."

She clenched her hands in her lap, gripping her clothes tightly. "It's hard, Minato-kun… I have to force myself not to reach out and pull him close, to never let him go again…" Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. "He's my son…"

The blonde Hokage stood up from his chair and strode over to her, sitting beside her on the couch that was in his office. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she instinctively leaned into him for comfort.

"If you push too hard, Kushina, then he might not see it that way," he explained. "You have to ease up, or you'll lose him for good."

She choked out a sob, finding the situation to be one of the hardest moments of her life. In her husband's embrace, she wept for the child born from her stolen eggs; for the child who grew up feeling a loneliness that could compare to Jinchūriki.

* * *

When Kushina returned to the training field with two takeout orders of Ichiraku, she saw Naruto in the middle of a personal training session. Cringing slightly, she saw that it was more of a venting session to get rid of some frustration; as seen by him relentlessly wasting away his chakra with poorly executed Fire Style jutsu.

Still, at least she was able to see that Anko had taught him more than just Snake Style jutsu.

"Naruto," she called out, making him stop from performing another Fireball Jutsu. "Take a break and eat. We'll pick up where we left off afterwards."

He sighed to himself and nodded, heading over to her so they could eat. It was an awkward silence for them as they slurped their ramen, neither of them knowing what to say to the other.

Kushina was about to have one of her famous outbursts from the tension, but to her surprise, Naruto beat her to it. "Sensei, I… I'm trying to make sense of everything. From a logical standpoint, this whole situation is clear as glass. But from an emotional one…"

"It's frustrating, isn't it?" she guessed, earning a nod. "I feel the same way. It's hard to deal with, but I hope we can get through this together."

"…You said you would meet me halfway, right?" he asked, raising his gaze from his ramen to meet hers.

"Yes, I did." He was hesitant, she could see it easily; but she said nothing to pressure him.

"Do you…" He took a moment to take a breath and calm his nerves. "Do you think that…we could start fresh?" She tilted her head slightly at the question. "I want to accept your offer; I really do… But, I don't know you other than by reputation. So, do you think we could take it one day at a time?"

Hope filled her heart, and she couldn't stop the bright smile that threatened to split her face. "Yes! Yes, I'd like that very much."

He wasn't pushing her away; he just needed to get a better understanding of who she was and how she would treat him. She could do that! She'll treat him like any other student and help him grow as a ninja; but at the same time, she would ease herself more and more into his life. She could start by doing what she is now: sharing a meal with him.

Ideas swarmed into her head, each one filled with the goal of bringing her and Naruto closer together until finally they could be a family.

Getting her focus back on track, she declared, "I promise not to make you too uncomfortable, Naruto. I may come on a bit strong on some occasions; but I'll try not to push too hard."

He could live with that for now, so he nodded in acceptance. "Right… So, about that lesson…?"

"Oh, of course! Why don't I show you one of my favorite seals? It was actually one of my first ideas that took me a long time to finish." she offered excitedly.

"And what seal is that, sensei?" he asked, curiosity growing within him.

With a bright grin, Kushina pulled out her old notebook from her Genin days and opened it to the first few pages. "It's called Dive to the Heart." (1)

* * *

 **1~ I've decided to incorporate a few** _ **Kingdom Hearts**_ **elements into this story, and not just the music.**

 **And that, as they say, is that!**

 **I'm so sorry that this took so long to update. Work, family issues, new story ideas, and sometimes just lazy forgetfulness got in the way. Not much of an excuse, but it's the truth; and I'd rather be a truthful fool than a lucrative liar.**

 **Kushina and Naruto have agreed to take things slow and start over. While it's not ideal for Kushina, she knows that it's the best way for Naruto to become a part of her life. However, be prepared for random moments where she will come on a bit strong (which I hope to make into a series of comical events for you readers).**

 **Two things before I end this. The first is a request. Lots of authors these days – myself included – have "Characters Reading" versions of their stories. I'd like some eager and willing authors to give some of my stories a go at this format; except for ones that already** _ **have**_ **Reading versions.**

 **I have Reading versions for:**

 _ **Kouma Shōkan: The Whirling Maelstrom**_

 _ **A Sun's Devilish Maid**_

 _ **Sackcloth and Ashes**_

 _ **Star Wars: The New Republic**_

 **If you'd like to give one of my other stories a shot, then please PM me!**

 **The second thing is suggestions for what Naruto will encounter for his own person** _ **Dive to the Heart**_ **. I'll happily hear any ideas and silently choose the one I like the most! So, take a moment to think, and share your ideas!**

 **Until next time!**

 _ **~pain17ification~**_


End file.
